


Varian x Reader Oneshots

by fightthefry



Series: Tangled: The Series Works| by fightthefry [2]
Category: Tangled: The Series (Cartoon)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-11
Updated: 2019-08-12
Packaged: 2019-09-16 09:51:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 36
Words: 58,784
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16951776
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fightthefry/pseuds/fightthefry
Summary: A collection of my own Varian x reader oneshots!Ideas either from my own mind or requests from readers.Enjoy!





	1. Chapter 1

"(Y/N), are you sure this is safe?" Varian queried, raising his forearm to wipe beads of sweat off of his forehead, "I mean, this fire's getting pretty big, and you are sitting quite close." You furrowed your brow in concentration.  
"Shhh, Varian! It needs to be perfect," you scolded, twisting the marshmallow stick between your gloved hands. Your eyes watched the embers spiral upwards, observing as they fizzled out into the air.  
"And besides, why are you so worried? Do you care about me?" You teased, making a kissy face on the last sentence. Varian's face flushed, his nose wrinkled in question as he opened his mouth to response. But...  
"Damn it!" You exclaimed, throwing your hands up in the air; letting go of the now burnt marshmallow and its stick into the fire. "Well, now I need to start all over again," you complained, fumbling around in your satchel besides you for more marshmallows and another stick. You brought out two, and offered one to Varian. He shook his head.  
"Oh come on, you haven't even toasted one!" You moaned, holding the stick out more forcefully. Varian's eyes crossed as he looked down the sharp end now pointed in his face. He pushed it to the side.  
"To be fair, neither have you (Y/N), they've all burnt," he stated, dusting off his apron of the soot that landed on it, "and besides, I don't like them. They're too sweet, and the texture is just weird." He creased his brow. "That fire is getting rather large, you know, are you sure you don't want to-"

"No, now hush. I need to get this perfect," you scolded, biting your lower lip. Your face burnt from the heat. As you glanced over to the side, you noticed that Varian had taken off his gloves and apron, leaving a rather tatty and chemical-stained shirt underneath. His eyes were glazed over; he was in deep thought. His lip was curled inwards, and his face was turned down towards his feet. His baby blue eyes sparkled as they mirrored the dancing flames, making a compound of passionate red and calming blue. They were mesmerising. (Y/N)'s face blushed, or maybe you were just burning up from the fire. You couldn't be sure. You'd like to think it to be the latter, however your crush on Varian smacked that theory in the face with a, WAKE UP, IDIOT! It had been years now that you had had a crush on the clumsy alchemist that lived next door, years that you had to refrain from grabbing his face and pressing your lips on his. Years and years and years and years and ye-  
"LOOK OUT!" Varian yelled, diving into (Y/N) and pushing you backwards away from the fire, which engulfed the log you were sat on. Your breath caught in your throat as you saw the scene, leaning into Varian for support. His hand rested itself on your head, playing idly with your hair in comfort, his other wrapped securely around your waist from when he had pulled you away. You looked up at him, which was both annoying and amazing. In the last couple of years, Varian had grown to be taller than you by a good three or four inches, which infuriated you. However, you had to say, you felt rather flustered when you looked up at him and he looked down at you. It made their conversations much more intimate. It made them closer, in the way that (Y/N) wanted them to be, or at least it did in your mind.  
As you looked up, you saw his face to be both hard and soft; both serious and scared. You felt his breaths on the back of your head, and they were heavy, and fast. He tightened his arm on you, pulling you closer. (Y/N) suspected it was subconsciously, but still the feeling was nice.  
"I saw the fire growing, and you were just staring at it. You weren't moving, and then it got too close," he exclaimed through rapid breaths, although they had slowed a fair amount by now. You manoeuvred your body so you were facing him, with his arm still wrapped securely around you. You looked up.  
"Thank you, Varian," you smiled, your lips curled into a coy expression. His face lit up. He stared at you and you stared at him, that was, until something caught his attention from behind you. He cleared his throat.  
"I should really put that fire out so..." he pulled his arm away. You watched in awe as he threw a chemball into the fire. You had always loved alchemy, loved the complexity of it. And, even though Varian strongly objected the idea, alchemy had always seemed... magical for you. Immediately, the fire began to dissipate, revealing dead and burnt ground. He turned back to you.  
"Its been dark for a while, we should probably head back now," he announced, clapping his bare hands together. You gasped.  
"Varian, your apron, your gloves!" You exclaimed, your hands rising up to your mouth. He grinned bashfully, his head tilting as he waved his hand in dismissal. You chuckled half heartedly at his nonchalant response. You turned, beckoning him to follow you.  
"So what's on the agenda for the worlds okayest alchemist tomorrow, then?" you teased, and he shrugged.  
"I don't know, I might revisit the idea of a flying machine..." he explained, his voice trailing off occasionally, and then picking up in the middle of a new sentence. You listened, intrigued as you watched his face light up, his eyes occasionally drifting down to you as he watched for your approval for him to keep talking. You gave it, and so he did.  
You were so engaged, you hardly even noticed when his arm snaked around your waist, and pulled you closer.  
"Varian?" You asked, missing his voice. What's wron- hmph!"  
You were cut off when a pair of warm lips matched with yours, swiftly and forcefully, pushing you backwards a little. His other hand placed itself behind your head pulling you closer, and instinctively you wrapped your arms around his neck. You felt your breath weaken, and you pulled away, gasping. His face was bright red, and he stared at you, waiting for your reaction. When you didn't give one, he rushed too explain himself.  
"I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me! I must have inhaled some smoke from the fire or.. or." He too, was cut off. You pulled your lips away from his cheek and reached for his hand, interlocking your fingers and swinging your hands softly.  
"Don't apologise. You have nooo idea how long I've waited for you to do that," you giggled, swinging your arm more forcefully as you watched his face light up to match yours, "besides, you're pretty cute."  
"You're pretty cute yourself," he retorted, his sarcasm sprinkled with flirtatious intent. You snorted, simultaneously shoving him with your elbow. A look of admiration came across his face as he regained himself. Varian held out his arm.  
"Muh-lady," he teased flirtatiously, and you giggled as you took his arm, which then found its way back around your waist.  
All was as it was before, except now, it was better.


	2. Chapter 2

Everyone had two names. One on their right wrist, one on their left. One was their enemy, and the other, their soulmate. The only catch, they didn't know which was which. These strange tattoos, these constant reminders, they were completely normal. Everyone had two names. Except you.   
You only had one.   
When you were born, the doctors classed you with a deformity. They speculated that the other name had simply not appeared yet. They didn't understand the fact that as you got older, nothing new appeared. As your skin grew and stretched, so did your tattoo, the name bold and ever lingering on your wrist. You had taken too wearing bandages around your wrists, to mask your oddity. You looked at the text. Varian. It was a strange name, not one you'd find everyday, and its uniqueness made your heart flutter. Flutter and stop. See, the doctors had come to a conclusion.   
You didn't have two names for a foe and a soulmate, because your enemy and soulmate were one in the same.   
\--------------------------------------------------  
"Rapunzel!" you yelled, waving your arm around as you stepped out of the carriage.   
"(Y/N)," she yelled in response, and enveloped you into a bear hug, "it's been so long!" Your sisters long blonde hair was twisted in a complex braid, flowers adorning the many strands that it had. Her bright green eyes shone with ecstasy, but there was a glaze over them, like her happy mannerisms were temporary. Like something had happened.   
Behind Rapunzel, a brunette stepped forwards, her chest covered with armour, a sword strapped to her side. Her eyes were strange, like a bird that had been turned to stone. So cold, yet so happy. You grinned.   
"Hey Cass," you said, opening your arms for a hug.  
"Hey (Y/N)," she retorted, ruffling your hair and ignoring your outstretched arms. Classic Cass.   
"Sooooo anything happen when I was away?" You wriggled your eyebrows at Cass, who rolled her eyes.   
"No, I did not find my soulmate, thanks for asking," she said sarcastically. You knew that Cassandra wasn't bothered with love currently, which was okay, but it was still funny to tease her. Cassandra and Rapunzel looked at each other knowingly, and Rapunzel's face darkened.   
"Actually, (Y/N), something did happen," Rapunzel stated, the fear in her eyes breaking its way through, "while you were away, Corona was attacked by a dangerous foe. We scarcely escaped." You rose your hands to your mouth in shock, and as you looked around, it became blatantly obvious. The courtyard was littered with debris, and claw marks were engrained into the ground. Black rocks stood erect at the court walls, piercing the stone. They looked to be worse than before.   
"Oh my goodness," you exclaimed in a small voice behind your hand, "what happened? Who did this?"   
Rapunzel grimaced and Cassandra subconsciously placed her hand on the hilt of her sword.   
"Varian," she said through gritted teeth, her eyes burning holes through yours. Your breath hitched and caught in your throat, and your heat stopped beating. The world seemed to slow down, and as if on cue, your left wrist began to sting.   
"V-Varian, you say?" You confirmed, trying to hide your stutters.   
"Yeah why? Do you know him?" Cass asked, suspicious. She was right to be of course, but she didn't need to know that. Neither of them did.   
"No, I don't. It's just not a name you hear everyday," you said, focusing on your breathing, "so what did he do?" You changed the subject.   
"Varian's father got trapped in the black rocks, in a substance that was seemingly unbreakable. Rapunzel... Varian came to her, asked her for help, but we were in the middle of a larger crisis. She couldn't. He... he blamed her, and tricked her into helping him steal the Sundrop flower," Cass recalled, her knuckles white on her sword.   
"The Sundrop?" You asked, amazed, and afraid.   
"Yeah," she answered," anyway, it became apparent that he had gone rogue. When the Sundrop flower didn't work on his dad, he set his eyes on Rapunzel. On her 19th birthday, he let a monster into the courtyard," she gestured around her, "a lot of our soldiers were injured. Including my father. During the ambush, the Queen, your mother, she had been taken. Varian had kidnapped her. He used her for bait and threatened her life. He held your father and Rapunzel in his lab whilst he used Rapunzel's hair to try to free his father. It.. when it didn't work, he tried to kill us. He tried to kill me," Cassandra spat. Rapunzel's eyes had gone misty at the reminder.   
"Where is he now?" You asked, curious.   
"In the dungeons, where he'll remain for the rest of his stinking life."  
Your eyes widened, and your hand regained its place on your lips.  
"I want to see him," you announced, quietly.   
"What? Why?" Cassandra demanded, her voice raised. Rapunzel flinched at the rise in volume but said nothing.   
Shakily, you reached towards the wrappings on your arm. The bandage fell, and there it was. Varian. Rapunzel's eyes widened, and Cassandra snorted.   
"You can't possibly- check the other one!" she said, making it obvious that she considered him an enemy. That she considered him to be her enemy, too.   
She removed the other bandage, and it fell away too reveal...  
"What?" Rapunzel spoke in a hushed tone, surprise nipping at the edge of her voice.  
"When I was born they were confused. Th- they thought I was broken, deformed. They considered me an anomaly, which I kinda am. Lately, they've come to the conclusion that my foe, my soulmate? They are one in the same," you informed, guilt latching onto your stomach. But you didn't have anything to feel guilty for.   
"I want to see him, Rapunzel," you begged, "please." She looked at you, at your pleading eyes. She foresaw a battle she would lose, an argument you would win, so she nodded. It hurt her, but she said yes.   
"Thank you," you cried, literally. Tears fell down your cheeks and swarmed in the corner of your eyes. You grabbed your sister around the midrift and cried into her skirts, her hands on your hair, her face still scared, but this time, at you.   
\---------------------------------------------------  
"Your majesties," the guards barked, standing straight.   
"(Y/N) is here to see Varian," Rapunzel said, "do not tell our parents of this." The guards nodded their heads, and took you by the arm.   
"You should go alone," Rapunzel encouraged, even though you could see she didn't want to let you go. You ran to her, and grappled her into a hug, whispering into her stomach.  
"Thank you."  
"Your majesty," the guard said again. With one last look at her sister, she turned away.   
\---------------------------------------  
You walked down the cold corridor, your shoulders shuddering slightly from the bitter freeze in the air, its staleness choking you. Your heart beat out your chest, and you seemed to see everything monochromatically. Well, you did. The cells were void of colour, with black stone and grey floors and silver bars. The guard stopped and fiddled with the lock on one of the cells. It seemed smaller than the others, the bars closer together and reinforced. The door swung open, and the silence grew.   
"Varian, you have a visitor," the guard said with such disgust in his voice that it shocked you. You stepped in, and when the guard tried to follow you, you shooed him away.   
"Leave us," you demanded. The guard looked uncertain, but bowed his head and walked away. You turned back to him. Varian.  
His hair was black and sprinkled with dust, light curls spinning off at the ends, an odd streak of blue painted through. He wore naught but a teal shirt, greyed with dust, which hung slightly off one shoulder, and a pair of battered trousers. His bare feet were crossed, and filthy. His face was lean, his nose button like and upturned, his cheeks splattered with a myriad of freckles. His eyes, oh his eyes were bright blue, intense, and staring right at her. He was cute, there was no doubt about that. A smirk pried at his lips, and (Y/N) could see a pair of buck teeth through the gap.   
"Your majesty," he said, his voice gravelly and hoarse from misuse, and crying, "to what do I have the pleasure." You could hear the sarcasm and snark in his remark, which hurt you, but you moved forwards nonetheless. You could almost hear his sharp inhale as you sat down next to him, too which he responded by scooting away from you.   
"My name is (Y/N)," you said softly, in a tone similar to what you would use to address a wounded animal. His face changed for a second as you spoke your name.   
"I didn't know that was your full name, usually people call you (N/N)," he said, his voice shaky, struggling to keep his confidence.   
You pulled up the sleeve of your cloak, to reveal the blocked letters, omnipresent on your freezing skin. You were very obviously shivering. You looked at the text for a moment, before staring back at Varian, waiting for a reaction. His eyes were large, and his mouth was parted slightly in realisation. Cautiously, he pulled back his own sleeve, to which your name was visible. You stared at each other.  
"What's your other one," he asked, his tone different. Curious. Inquisitive. Cute.   
You pulled back your other sleeve to reveal what you knew to be nothing. Varian looked taken aback, but not in the way everyone else usually responded. He pulled back his own, to reveal naught but his own dirt covered skin. You looked at him.   
"Varian I... I know what you did," you said a little more confidently. The innocent look swept from his face and he turned away, "but I don't want us to be enemies." You placed your hand on his arm, which he flinched at. He looked at you, his head tilted. He looked at your hand.   
"You're cold," he said, monotonously.   
"Well yeah I- what are you doing?" you exclaimed as he shifted closer to you, pulling you into him with his arm, which he had placed around your shoulders. You looked at him. He was bright red.   
"I.. you were cold and we're soulmates... so I didn't think you'd mind if I tried to warm you up," he said almost coyly. You were surprised by the sudden change in his attitude; his behaviour. You pondered for a moment, before leaning into him and resting your head on his shoulder. It was hard from lack of food, but comforting. You were surprised by how natural this felt, how easily you slipped in to the habit of liking him. You could tell he felt the same. You were even prepared to love him, and the notion didn't seem so alien anymore.   
"Varian, are you sorry for what you did?" You looked at him. He looked down.   
"I'm sorry it didn't work," he answered. You looked away, "but I am sorry people got hurt. Innocent people, that is." You could tell he excluded Rapunzel. Your sister. You sighed in exasperation, and looked at him head on. You leant forwards and placed your lips innocently on his cheek, which he froze up at. You dragged your head down, lips skimming him and placed it on his chest.   
"We can work on that."   
He unfroze.  
\-------------------------------------------------------------------  
Rapunzel listened in through the walls, squinting to see through the various gaps in the brick. She looked at them, and her heart stopped. It was the first time she had seen Varian since the attack, and she wasn't prepared, for numerous reasons. He looked so... dirty, so unkept. Sad, was the word. She could almost feel sorry for him. Almost. But seeing your head on him, and his arm around you... she didn't know what to feel. But she knew you were happy, and that's what mattered.


	3. Chapter 3

You knocked briskly on the door to Varian's lab, your knuckles pounding on the harsh wooden door. It was splintered and stained, the wood several colours, due to repairs made over time. A strange smell wafted through the gaps in the frame, green smoke billowing and sifting upwards from the bottom. This wasn't unusual, however, but the fact that Varian hadn't responded to your arrival made you worry slightly, so you knocked again. And again, nothing. Drawing your breath and blocking the passage of air through your nose, you grasped the door handle and pushed against the wood with your shoulder. It came free and you stumbled through, landing in a heap on the floor. The green smoke was more present now, skimming the bottom of the floor and licking at your face. The sulphurous smell both blinded and choked you, its trail leading back to a small beaker on a far desk, at which sat Varian, unfazed and uninterested at your arrival.   
"Varian?" You called out to your boyfriend, your hand wafting the smoke away from your face, the orifices starting to burn. He didn't answer, but you could hear his incoherent mutterings from where you were stood. You tapped your foot on the ground rapidly.   
"Varian," you questioned again, this time louder and a little more impatiently. His hand twitched as you raised your voice, so he definitely heard you, but still his head stayed focused on his desk, and he continued to ignore you.   
You huffed and stomped over, grabbing his arm, the quill dripping ink onto his messy notes. He looked up at you with an eyebrow raised, and a question on his lips.   
"What?" Varian said, his words laced with annoyance. Oh. Oh.   
Red circles surrounded his eyes, puffy and bloodshot as they were, and streaks made their way down his face, like the tears had burned into his skin. His nose was pink and his mouth was quivering, and his hair stuck out in multiple directions around the strap of his goggles. He looked a mess.   
"Varian, what happened," you gasped. You removed your hand from his arm and brought it to his cheek, caressing the tear lines. He pulled away and focused his head back on his work, his eyes empty.   
"See for yourself," he answered monotonously, his head jerking to the second part of his lab. You turned your head to see a large... something, covered in a tarp. Out from the bottom stuck tentacles of what looked like amber, the legs spiralling and sticking out in odd directions. Now that you saw it you couldn't look away. With one last look back at Varian, you walked towards it. Your hand grasped the tarp and you yanked it away. You gasped, your hands stuck to your mouth in shock.   
In front of you was a large statue, its hue matching that of the strange tentacles surrounding you. Inside was a figure, blurred and unclear through the orange, but it was clear who it was. Quirin, his hand outstretched, his eyes closed, was stuck in the amber. You tightened your grip on your hands as you let out a sob, your eyes starting to stream tears, your vision stuck on Varian's father encased and trapped.   
From behind you, you heard the faint sound of crying, and turned back to see Varian with his head on the desk, his back shaking through his sobs. He looked awful. You ran over to him and grabbed his hands, pulling him from the chair, and watched in pain as he dropped to the floor, his head in his knees and his arms wrapped tightly around his legs. You fell to his side.   
"Varian, I-I'm so sorry. What happened?" You asked, trying to keep your voice as level as possible, which was hard, seeing as you too were crying. Varian didn't answer, and he brought his legs in closer to his head.   
"We'll get him out Varian," you said, reaching out your hand to gently hold his. Suddenly, he turned and wrapped his arms around you, his head in your lap. He buried his face into your leg, the fabric of your skirts crinkling around him. You placed your hand on his head and played with his hair, feeling the shuddering of his small body beneath you.   
You leant down and kissed his head.   
"I promise."  
\------------------------------------------  
WELL this was quite short, only 700 or so words, but I was in the mood to write some angst.   
welp I tried.


	4. Chapter 4

You tapped your foot on the ground, your hands fiddling with your bedsheets as you watched Varian work. You were a handmaiden at the castle, and Varian the Royal Alchemist, and today was both your days off. Well, you wouldn't know that, seeing as how Varian was sat at his desk working. You walked over to him.  
"Varian, come on! Its your day off, Rapunzel of all people isn't going to mind if you don't finish this project today," you pleaded, tugging at the sleeves of his shirt, "Spend time with me."   
You stuck your bottom lip out, and angled your eyebrows upwards in an attempt to beg. He looked up at you, smiling, and pecked your lips.   
"Sorry sweetheart, this project was due yesterday," he retorted, his head tilting, his eyes glinting with humorous intent as he observed your puppy dog face.  
"Hmph," you exclaimed, and sulked back over to the bed.   
You crossed your arm over your chest, and pouted at the floor. You sat there like that for a good couple of minutes, scarcely moving, until you heard the scraping of a chair and footsteps. You glanced up slightly to see Varian on his knees in front of you, his hands on your lap.   
"Rapunzel can wait a while longer," he smirked, and leant forwards, pressing his lips against yours.  
You breathed in heavily through your nose, leaning backwards, and wrapped your arms around his neck. He leant in to you, his torso in between your legs, you trying not to fall onto your back. Too late. Varian pushed you, and you fell onto the bed. Your noses squashed together as you deepened your kiss, your legs wrapping around his waist. Varian moved away from your face, and began to nip at your neck, his body pressed up against yours. Your neck fell backwards, giving him access, and you held your breath as a tiny moan escaped your lips. Varian smirked, pulling at the bottom of your shirt, asking for your permission.   
You rolled to the side at a 90 degree angle, laying in the direction you would as if you were sleeping, and Varian came with you. He brought his body up off yours as he pulled off your shirt, leaving you in your undergarments. You responded by pulling off his, to which he smiled and leant his chest into yours. Your lips connected again, and Varian slipped his tongue in, which surprised you, to say the least. His dominance was in no way off putting however, so you pushed your head into the mattress as he deepened the kiss.   
You ran your hands through his hair and pulled off his goggles, throwing them over to the side. Varian brought his head up in the direction they landed, but you pulled him back into you. He brought his hands down to your trousers, pulling at the fabric, his other hand running itself up your body. Then suddenly...  
"Can I come in?" a voice piped from outside. Rapunzel.   
"Damn!" Varian hissed, his body lifting off yours and reaching for his shirt.   
You did the same, frantically pushing your head through the hole and running your fingers through your hair to tame it. Varian swung his legs around and got off you, walking over to the door. He opened it and leant on the side of the frame, his arms crossed.   
"Yes, princess?" he asked, his face red both from being embarrassed and flustered.  
He smiled, his lopsided grin a welcome sign for you as you joined him at the door.  
"What can we do for you, Rapunzel?" You asked, trying to mask your heavy breaths.   
She raised her eyebrows, and you smiled innocently in response.   
"I just came to tell Varian that the design for the automatic laundry trolley isn't needed until next week, the builders have been delayed," she chirped, her hands patting her sides in contentment.   
"Okay. Cool. Great," Varian answered.   
He looked at you and nudged your side a little too obviously, to which you responded by kicking his shins.   
"Well anyway, I'll leave you to your day off," Rapunzel smiled, and turned around to walk away.   
Varian and you stared at each other, both smiling and letting out sighs of relief. Before you could close the door, Rapunzel spoke up again.   
"Oh, (Y/N)?" she asked, and you raised your head.   
"Your shirt is on back to front."


	5. Chapter 5

"Lock him in a cell!" You yelled, Varian behind you. Rapunzel laughed.   
"We aren't locking Varian in a cell, (Y/N), just because you're in loooove," she teased, and you rolled your eyes.   
"We aren't actually in love, Varian just spilt a love potion," you said, pointing at your eyes, which had turned purple with the effects of the potion.   
"It was a love formula, not a potion, and I wasn't the one that spilt it," Varian corrected, his arms crossed, his eyes narrowed. They were purple as well, with pink flecks dotted throughout.   
"Besides, if you guys can't control yourselves, that's not our problem," Eugene shrugged, and you growled at him.   
"I can control myself just fine, but you know how teenage boys are like," you rolled your eyes. Varian stared at you.   
"Hey!" He pouted, with a look that made your heart melt. No. You were not doing this. You forced yourself to turn away.   
"Why don't you guys just give in?" Cassandra questioned, her eyebrows raised. "It seems you like each other, even if it is a potion, so why don't you just stop fighting it until it wears off."   
Her point made sense, but then again, so did yours.   
"Yeah, but even if we did, we might get nostalgic for it in real life," You said, as if this was only a dream, "and it would be awkward."  
"Yeah," Varian said profoundly, contributing. You sighed.   
"Look, Varian said that the effects would wear off after 12 hours, we just have to last half a day, until midnight," you said, convincing yourself. 12 hours seemed like an awfully long time. But it was okay, you could do other things like... uhhh.... well you'd figure that part out.   
"Kids," Cassandra sighed, gripping the bridge of her nose in exasperation.   
"I still think it would be easier to give in. So what if you get real feelings for each other?" She said, and you had to admit, it would be easier. Varian looked at you, asking what you should do. You wanted nothing more, in that moment, than to be with him.   
"How about, we just, hold back?" Varian suggested to you.  
"What do you mean?" you said, laughing nervously.   
"Well, from what I've observed, it would be incredibly and unnecessarily difficult to try to stay completely separated, since it seems the effects get stronger over time." He was right of course, but you still wanted to object. He didn't give you a chance.   
"A good middle ground would be acting like a couple. If we avoid this and then suddenly pounce on each other, the withdrawal effect would be stronger than if we just gave in from the beginning. Not completely, but like, if we held hands and hugged... and..." He furrowed his eyebrows. You could tell what he was thinking, without him having to say it.   
"That sounds... like a good idea," you agreed.   
"Sooo basically you are just giving in to the love spell, aren't you?" Cassandra joked, her hands crossed across her chest in triumph.   
"No... were you not listening? We're controlling it, from the start, so that we don't embarrass ourselves by doing something drastic later. Makes total sense," Varian argued, looking to you for confirmation. You nodded.   
"Yeah. Total sense," You confirmed, and Varian beamed at you, which made you incredibly happy.   
"Yeah yeah anyways, (Y/N), remember we have that important meeting with that representative in a couple of hours," Rapunzel reminded.   
You groaned, but she piped up again.   
"Mum also told me that to coax you to come, she'll let you bring a plus one," she added, wiggling her eyebrows, and you perked up slightly.   
"I guess that wouldn't be so bad," you turned to Varian, "want to be my plus one?" You asked, and he blushed.   
"Sure," he said, smiling.   
"Whilst that's adorable and everything, are you sure that's the best idea? Number one, you are both under a love spell, and number two, Varian isn't the most..." Cassandra looked at Varian, who was currently wiping his goggles on the hem of his shirt," .well, this is a very important dinner."   
You waved your hand in dismissal.   
"We'll dress him up nice, comb his hair, he'll be fine. Just tell mum and dad that he's like a prince or something and they'll be happy," you reassured, and Cassandra sighed.   
"Fine, but you better go get ready now. Get him ready, teach him etiquette, that sort of thing," she said, well, more like ordered. You didn't want to say no to Cass, since she looked like she was about to crack a tooth.   
"Okay then," You squeaked, and pulled Varian off by his arm, disappearing down the hallway.   
\--------------------------------------------  
"Okay Varian, come out," you yelled at the dressing screen. Varian stuck his head out.   
"I look like an idiot," he grumbled, and you rolled your eyes.   
"I'm sure you look fine. If not, you can change," you reassured, and smiled at him.   
"Fine, but don't laugh," he warned, and stepped out, his hands out from his side as he showed you his outfit.   
And immediately you blushed.   
His tatty, teal shirt had been replaced with a white, cotton dress-shirt, with a sharp collar at the top. Over the top he had donned a dark blue waistcoat that hugged his figure tightly, with golden buttons cascading down the crease. On his bottom half he wore simple boots and trousers, although these ones didn't have holes in them. His goggles had been removed from his head, and his hair had been brushed, although it still looked a mess. You giggled.   
"Varian, you look amazing!" You exclaimed, walking towards him. He straightened up a bit, a smile tugging at his lips.   
"R-really?" He asked in disbelief, and you reached for his hands, swinging them lightly.   
"Really," you confirmed, and kissed him on the cheek. He blushed.  
"This holding back thing is working really well, I feel really in control," You marvelled, "good job."   
You punched Varian in the arm, and he groaned.   
"How is it one minute you are kissing me, and the next punching me?" he asked, rubbing his newly formed bruise.   
"I didn't kiss you!" You objected. "I simply, pecked you, there's a difference."  
Varian nodded.   
"Of course, naturally." He said seriously. You punched him.   
"Again?!" He said, exasperated. You laughed.   
"Stop being a snark, and then I'll stop," you said, you arms behind you're back. Varian's eyes flashed dangerously. He stepped closer to you.   
"Make me," he whispered in your ear, the heat of his breath lingering on your skin.   
"I- Uhhh..." you articulated, your face going red.   
There was a knock on the door, and Varian regained himself. Cassandra peered in, and whistled.   
"Wow, kid, you did a good job. He actually looks presentable," she teased. She looked at you.   
"Hey (Y/N), why are you so red?" She smirked, and Varian shrugged innocently.   
"Beats me," he bounced, and you punched him again.   
"Seriously, what is it with you and punches?!" He yelped. You laughed.   
"Awww, affection," Cassandra fawned, then gagged, "come on, your parents are waiting."  
\---------------------------------------------  
"Ah, (Y/N), nice of you to join us," King Frederick said, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.   
"Dad, mum, you know Varian," you said, holding you arms out to highlight your date. Or... well... okay yes you supposed he was your date.   
A man with a curly moustache and a balding head walked up to them, a rather snotty (and young) women on his arm.   
"Ahh, (Y/N), Varian, may I introduce the Earl of Dentar," your father said, stepping backwards to allow for a better view. You curtsied, and nudged Varian, who also curtsied.   
"Damn," you whispered under your breath, and Queen Mum coughed over your profanities. She was nice like that.   
"Shall we take a seat," she rushed, distracting the Earl so that he took his mind off of Varian's blunder. Rapunzel was already at the table, in her usual fashion of no shoes, and waved at them.   
"Hi! You must be the Earl of Dentar, it is so nice to meet you!" Rapunzel gushed, shaking the Earl's hand excitedly.   
"Yes... pleasure..." He said, pulling his hand away and wiping it on his sleeve. You bit back on your tongue when you saw the disgusted look on his face, and Rapunzel, being Rapunzel, had yet to notice. Varian, however had. He grabbed your hand and unclenched your fist.   
"Don't," he whispered, and you calmed down. You let your fingers inertwine with his, and neither of you let go.  
You sat down at the table, Varian sat next to you, and you next to Rapunzel.   
"Well, Hector, it has been so long," your mother spoke, interrupting the silence that had fallen as they sat down.   
It seems the Earl wasn't listening.   
"Oh, I'm sorry dear, where you speaking?" He said rudely, and your mind went blank. He... had called your mother 'dear'. You breathed heavily through your mouth, and Varian squeezed your hand.   
"Don't," he said again, and loosened his grip, but you tightened it again, looking at him.   
"(Y/N)?" Your father said impatiently. You snapped your head up in his direction, and he smiled through gritted teeth.   
"I was just telling the Earl about how interested you are in botany," he said suggestively, and you turned to the Earl, whom you didn't like very much.   
"Yes, I'm quite interested in botany," you admitted, "of course I like all of the sciences, but botany specifically has always been a passion of mine." You looked at him for a response, but he completely ignored you, and instead turned to your father.   
"And... you encourage this... disgraceful behaviour?" The Earl spat, his little hairs bobbing with his head. Your father smiled warily and laughed.   
"I'm not quite sure what you mean?" He asked, and the Earl swelled up.   
"Women should not be interested in the sciences, it is not their place," the Earl sniffed, "you should be teaching your daughter proper things, like how to get a good husband. I see she hasn't found one yet."  
Your father stiffened.   
"In Corona, we strive for equality, and allow the princesses to marry whomever they want. Besides, she has just turned 15."  
You were hardly listening to your father defending you though, since you were trying to pry your grip from Varian's, who's face had gone uncharacteristically sinister, his grip on your hands tightening.   
"Varian," you whispered through your pain, and he looked at you. He stopped when he saw your face, and let go of your hand.   
"You know, Mr Earl sir, I completely agree," Varian said. You furrowed your brow. Why was he lying?  
"In fact, I am a man of science myself. If I could show you one of my concoctions, it would make my day sir," he smiled sweetly, his hands fiddling in his pocket.   
"What are you doing?" You hissed, and he stood up in his seat, ignoring you, and holding up a small vial of purple liquid.   
"This mixture has the ability to detect whatever smell will make you the happiest, and replicate it," Varian said proudly, holding it up. The Earl looked at it curiously.   
"Yes, now this is science!" He said, and beckoned Varian forward. You looked at your parents, worried, and they looked back at you, unsure. You all fixed your eyes on the young alchemist.   
"Now, sir, if you take in a large whiff of this," he held out the vial, which was starting to smoke purple. The Earl, completely unsuspecting of any foul play, lent his rather large nose over the vial and breathed in. For a moment nothing happened.   
"Why, boy, this doesn't work! You've wasted my- my..." The Earl sniffed, and began to sneeze. Violently. And with every sneeze, something poked out of his nose.   
"Oh my God," you laughed, as you watched the Earl battle with his ever growing nose hair. Even your mother let out a small laugh, and your father smiled.   
"FIX THIS!" The Earl screeched, his nose hair tickling his chin, and your father straightened up.   
"Varian," he said sternly, and Varian looked up at him.   
"I didn't know it would do that, honest, your Majesty," Varian giggled, his hands raised to the side of his head to proclaim innocence  
"Okay, Varian, can you fix this?" your father said, pointing to the Earl, whose nose hair was pooling at his feet.   
"I'm sorry, sir, but I don't know how. However, if you fetch Xavier, I'm sure he would be happy to help," Varian advised, and your father sighed.   
"Alright, Varian, (Y/N), you may leave," your father announced, and you jumped up from your chair. Varian grabbed your hand and pulled you out the door, shutting it slowly behind him. He turned to you.   
"Oops," he said mischievously.   
"You did that on purpose!" You realised, and laughed through your words. Varian shrugged innocently.   
"I have no idea what you mean," he teased, and you punched him, lightly. He didn't complain.   
"Varian, you could have ruined our relationship with him. He provides a great deal of our grain, you know," you said, but Varian just stared at you softly.   
"He insulted you," Varian said simply, and you looked at the clock on the wall. 12 O'clock. You looked back at Varian. His eyes were blue again.  
"Hey! We made it to twelve hours! The spell's worn off!" You celebrated, and ran at Varian, hugging him.   
As you pulled away, Varian didn't let go, his hands staying on your upper arm, holding you still.   
"Var? What are you-HMPH!"   
Varian kissed you, and the world stopped. You couldn't hear the panicked screaming of the Earl, or the ticking of the clock. You couldn't feel the ground beneath your feet, or the chill in the air. All you could feel was Varian's lips on yours, warm and soft, and all you could smell was the sweet scent of cinnamon wafting through your nose.   
You melted into it, and Varian's hands snaked down to your waist, where he pulled you closer. You could feel his lips stretch into a smile as he brought one of his hands up to your hair, entangling his fingers in it. Your lips moved together and your knees felt weak, so you leant into Varian for support. Unfortunately, you had to pull away to, you know, breathe.   
"That was... wow!" You said, breathless. Varian too, looked out of breath, and his face was bright red. He looked uncertain.   
"You liked it?" He asked, and you laughed, nodding.   
"But, I thought the spell wore off?" You asked, "Not that I'm complaining, or anything."  
Varian laughed nervously.   
"I like you, (Y/N), for real. I have for a while. The spell just heightened what was already there," he admitted, and your heart jumped into your throat. Varian... liked you. Like, like liked you.   
"Oh," you said, with no particular emotion. Varian rubbed his arm.   
"Sorry," he apologised, but you shook your head.   
"Don't," you parroted, and leant forwards for a much more innocent and brief kiss, which he embraced nonetheless.   
"So," you said, pulling away, "we're dating now, huh?" You looked at Varian.   
"I guess so," he said, eyes wide.   
"So I'm your girlfriend," you said.   
"Uh huh," Varian said profoundly.   
"And you're my boyfriend."  
"That is how dating works," he teased sarcastically, and you tested out the taste of the word in your mouth.   
"Boyfriend, yeah I like that," you said flirtatiously, and grabbed hold of Varian's hand.   
"What do you say we raid the kitchen, boyfriend?" You asked mischievously.   
Varian's eyes lit up.   
"I'd love to."


	6. Chapter 6

"Vaaarriiian," you moaned, drawing his name out in desperation. You leant at the side of his desk, on your knees, your arms on the desk and your head in them, "spend time with me."  
Your boyfriend smiled and kissed the top of your head. You frowned. That meant no.   
"Ugh," you complained and placed your head face down. You heard Varian murmur something about you being cute, and you slapped him playfully, rolling your head to the side so you could see him.   
"What are you even doing," you prodded, poking his arm as he wrote. He sighed, pulled his chair back and patted his lap. You smiled and plopped yourself on him, deliberately blocking his view. He pulled his legs apart, and you fell onto the hard, wooden chair.   
"Ow," you complained, and your Varian placed his head on yours as you slumped in your seat. He placed one arm around you, and the other remained on the table, attached to his quill.   
"For your information, I am writing a letter to Cassandra," he said. You raised your eyebrows. He rolled his eyes at your jealousy.   
"She asked me if I could modify the guard's swords so that they could light on fire. I'm writing back to say no," he pursed his lips, "I think it might have been Eugene."  
You laughed. "You think?"  
Your stomach growled.   
"Babe, I'm hungry," you whined. Varian snorted.  
"You only ever call me 'babe' when you want something, (Y/N), so come on. Out with it," Varian said, his eyes still on his paper. Damn. He had figured out your secret.   
"Well, I was hoping, you could make that banana bread you like so much," you asked innocently, looking up at him, your forehead under his chin, "and you could use a break."  
He sighed. "Fine."  
You pumped your elbow in victory, and he laughed.   
"The babe always works," you teased as he kissed your cheek.   
\--------------------------------------------  
"I'm going to give you a banana, do you think you could handle mashing a banana?" Varian said in exasperation. So far you had spilt the flour, broken the bowl, and dropped the butter. You looked at him sheepishly, flour on your nose.   
"I think so," you said a little more confidently, as Varian passed you a fork like it was a bottle of acid. And you would know. He'd given you many. He gave one to you as an anniversary present once.   
You held it gingerly.  
"Be careful," he warned. He seemed generally worried. You rolled your eyes.   
"I can handle this," you reassured, and went to work on your banana. You stood in silence, as you did when Varian was concentrating, and the only sounds that could be heard was Ruddiger going to work on your scarf. You glanced over at your boyfriend.   
His eyebrows were furrowed in concentration as he folded the mix. Across his glasses were sprinklings of flour, and his shirt was covered from when you'd spilt it. Oops.   
You loved Varian's glasses. You'd known him since you were young, and he'd never had to wear them until he got out of prison. He had come to you one day and complained that his eyes kept going blurry, so you took him to the doctor. You had practically squealed in glee when the doctor had placed a large pair of glasses in your hands. You loved how they emphasised his blue eyes, how they framed his face. They made him seem so serious, and she loved it, because he wasn't serious at all.   
You must have been staring, because Varian glanced up at you and smiled out of the corner of his mouth.   
"What? Have I got something on my face?" He teased. He knew full well that he had, since the flour covered lenses were right in front of his eyes. It was your turn to roll your eyes now, and you focused back on your banana, which was such a weird sentence.   
Varian looked at you, and you looked back at him. He raised his eyebrows expectantly, and held out his hand. You blushed and leant down to kiss it, lifting your head up to look at his face, which was covered by his other hand.   
"No, (Y/N), the bowl with the banana. Can I have the banana please?" He asked, a band of red visible across his face.   
"Oh yeah," you said, handing him the bowl. You knew full well what he was asking, but you loved teasing him. He tipped them in and began to stir, before stopping suddenly.  
"Come here," he said, wrapping his arm around you and handing you the spoon, "you can mix the banana in."  
You raised your eyebrow, "are you sure? You are kind of a control freak."  
He opened his mouth in question, "No, I'm not," he looked at your face. "Okay maybe I am, but you are just so dang clumsy, sunshine, I don't know what to do with you!"   
Your face flushed at your nickname, which you knew he fully intended. Varian was scarily good at reading people. He knew just what to say to get what he wanted, and you so often played into his hands.   
You took a breath. "Okay then," you said, "here goes nothing."  
You began to fold in the bananas, careful not to spill any, hyper aware of Varian tightening his grip on you.   
"Jeez, Varian, its a spoon. I'm not going to stab myself," you joked, continuing to fold it in. Varian murmured into your hair in embarrassment.   
"It's a sharp spoon."  
You snorted, folding in the bananas until they were fully mixed in. You held it up proudly.   
"Tada!" You announced. Varian looked at you, worried, and you put it down carefully, making a big show of it, staring him directly in the face.   
It was hard for both of you to keep a straight face. Eventually, Varian broke. He kissed your nose.  
"Go clean up, I'll put it in," he said into your forehead. You pouted.   
"You just don't want me around the oven, do you."  
"What can I say, I worry," he chuckled, and kissed your forehead. You scrunched your eyes up, opening one to look at him.   
"You've got to stop stealing kisses from me, Varian," you teased, and he leant in for your cheek, which you let pass.   
"Thank you for the suggestion, but given it's a stupid suggestion, uhhh... nope!" He smiled, his teeth shining and visible. You rolled your eyes and kissed his cheek, removing your apron.   
"It better taste, delightful," you warned, before making your way to freshen up.


	7. Chapter 7

"Stop fretting, you're making this so much harder than it has to be," the large figure boomed as they put a rag over your mouth. You scratched at the leather gloves that bound your wrists. Your arms grew tired and eventually, your vision faded completely as you lost consciousness, falling into your kidnapper.   
\-----------------------------------------------  
You stirred, your eyes blurred and heavy from being drugged. Your vision swam and your head hurt like hell, so naturally you tried to bring your hands up to your head. But... you couldn't.   
As soon as you tried you felt a great pull on your wrists as they were yanked back down to your lap. Yo-what? You looked down, vision unclear, at the metal cuffs bounding you to the harsh stone floor. You pulled again, this time harder, and yelped as a sharp pain shot through your hand. Your breath quickened as you looked around. It was dark, the only light from a window in the corner, and various glowing beakers around the sides. A large tarp covered statue was in the middle of the room, and over in the corner was a desk... a desk with a boy leaning on it. You spat the gag out of your mouth.   
"Hey!" You yelled at your captor, who jerked his head slightly, but other than that, completely ignored you.   
"HEY!" You yelled louder, this time making him turn to you.   
You couldn't see much in the low light, but from what you could see he was skinny, with dark hair and dark clothes. It was hard to tell, even then, because everything you saw, you saw in black and white, and so it would be until you met your soulmate. But you were getting off track.   
He walked towards you, his gloved hands intertwined with each other as he stopped about a metre away, his leg cocked out as he leant fully on the other one. He looked, tired? Annoyed? Like you were just a small inconvenience.   
"Princess, if you wouldn't mind, I'm trying to work, so shut your damn mouth," he spat, and pulled your gag forcefully back into your mouth. You glared at him, but he didn't look fazed, considering he started to walk back over to his table. You spat the gag back out.   
"Why did you take me, w-why am I here?" you asked frantically, trying to sound confident. The boy laughed.   
"What, no pleads for escape?" he smirked. You glared at him, and he shrugged.   
"I can respect that. Alright then, I'll throw you a ball," he said, plopping down crosslegged in front of you. Right, in front of you. He jabbed his finger at your chest.   
"You, dear princess, are here to lure your sister to me. I need her hair for something very special, and what better way to get her here than to kidnap her little sister?" He smiled falsely, his hands pressed together, mocking you.   
"You are Varian, I presume," you spat, your words the strongest acid in a room full of corrosive chemicals. He laughed a little.   
"My reputation proceeds me," he teased, toying with you. You rolled your eyes.   
"Oh?" You said, regaining your posture, "I only know the coward that stole the Sundrop and attacked the kingdom with your beast." Varian's eyes shone dangerously, their light grey tone flashing white.   
"Coward? I'm trying to save my dad!" He shouted, then regained himself, as the faint sound of a trapdoor opening rung in the distance.   
"It seems, princess, that the only coward here is your sister, and...," he looked over his shoulder, "your father it seems too! Oh good, this is going to be fun," he joked quietly, holding his rag over your mouth to silence you. Oh great, you thought, as you fell back into unconsciousness.   
\-----------------------------------------------------  
"I can't make any promises, princess," Varian smirked, his goggles on, his eyes on your sisters glowing hair. You shook your head to regain your vision, and saw your sister and father standing over by the wall, your father stuck in some kind of sticky matter, because he wasn't moving, and Rapunzel was in danger. You spat out your gag, again.   
"DAD!" You screeched, your voice breaking and your wrists hurting as you strained to get to him. He looked over.  
"(Y/N)!" King Frederick yelled, moving to go to you, but faulting when his feet moved nowhere. You held back a sob. A sound whirred and you snapped your head around to where your sister lay, shouting in pain, and Varian manning a machine that was attempting to drill into some kind of amber.   
The amber, you remembered. Yes, inside you could clearly see him, frozen, and the sight made you queasy. You gulped back your bile and turned to your dad. He stared in shock at Rapunzel, her hair straining, the magic in her hair fading... with her. Rapunzel was dying.   
"Dad," you said quietly, and your father turned towards you, tears in his eyes at the scene in front of you. Varian wasn't going to stop.   
You pointed at his sword, and then at your chains. Your father nodded grimly, with an expression of dread at losing both of his children. He drew his sword and slid it across the ground. Varian didn't even notice, he was too busy yelling at the machine, the machine that wasn't working. The machine that was draining your sister of her life. You brought the sword up over your chains.   
CLANG! They dropped to the floor. You rose shaky, and focused your sights on your sister, and on Varian. You ran at him, dropping the sword, and pushed him away from the machine, which immediately stopped. Varian clattered down somewhere over in the corner, a yell escaping his mouth. He was hurt. Good.   
You rushed over to Rapunzel, who was leant over in pain, clutching her head, tears streaming from her eyes. Blood trickled out of the corner of her mouth as she retched, clutching her stomach. You comforted her, rubbing her back as she sobbed.   
"(Y/N) LOOK OUT!"  
You swung round and immediately felt a sharp pain pierce your chest. The world slowed as you grabbed hold of Varians wrist, attached to the knife he had just plunged into your stomach. You looked up at him in shock, and then smiled, reaching out with your other arm. You supposed you were delirious with pain.   
"Your eyes are blue," you said weakly. Varians eyes widened, and he let go of the knife, his hands rising to his mouth.  
"And yours are (E/C)," he said through his fingers, tears forming in his eyes.   
You looked at your sister, still smiling.   
"Look after him," you asked. She nodded, pulling Varian close to her. He didn't object, and buried his head in her dress, sobbing the words 'I'm sorry' over and over again. You smiled at them both, and at your dad, before closing your eyes. 

 

 

 

And everything went dark, the cries of your soulmate fading as you slipped away. Blue, you remembered. It was such a pretty colour.


	8. Chapter 8

"(Y/N), can you pass me that beaker over there, the one with the purple liquid?" Varian asked, his face on a bubbling test tube. You reached over and passed it to him.  
"What is this potion meant to do anyways?" You asked, placed your elbow on his work desk. He rolled his eyes.   
"Its not a potion, its an alchemical compound," he corrected. Varian swirled around the test tube in his fingertips, so that it started to foam. He picked up a pipette and took in some of the purple liquid.   
"You know how Mrs Davidson next door is always complaining about her wrinkles," he asked. You nodded.   
"Well, I'm creating a de-aging formula that will hopefully get rid of her wrinkles!" He said happily, revising his notes.   
"De-aging?" You asked warily. You could see this going wrong.  
"Okaaay, time for the final touches, aaand." Varian squeezed the pipette, and a drop of purple liquid fell into the test tube.   
And immediately, it exploded.   
Sometimes you hated being right.  
\------------------------------------------------------------  
"Varian?" You coughed through the purple haze. You had been thrown back, but Varian had gotten a full face full of that stuff, and he wasn't answering you. Your heart raced as you crawled towards the desk, still ominously covered in smoke. You called again.   
"Varian?" You asked, standing at the edge of the purple smoke. Your breath hitched when you heard a faint sound. Crying... a baby? A child? You coughed as you waded through the fog, waving it away with your hand. Okay, it was definitely a child. You reached forwards blindly and reached the chair, on which sat a squirming bundle of clothes. It was clearer at the centre, since the smoke had already dissipated, so you could clearly see what was in front of you.   
On the chair sat a small child, wearing an oversized t-shirt. Varian's t-shirt. The child looked up at her, and stopped crying almost instantly, his mouth opening into a smile, two large front teeth visible in his gums. His eyes were blue and sparkling; his hair black and messy, with one blue streak going through it. You reached forwards in shock and picked him up from under the arms, careful to hold the shirt up over him, to give him a little dignity. He stared at you and reached out with his small hands, grabbing your face.  
"(Y/N)!" The child giggled, squishing your cheeks. He had a slight lisp as he spoke, and you sighed, looking at his little face.   
"Oh, Varian," you exclaimed.   
\--------------------------------------------------------------  
You held Varian in one arm whilst you searched through a chest, wading through years of his clothes. At the bottom was a pile of smaller clothes, that looked like they would fit him. You placed Varian on the floor, pulling out the clothes. You leant down next to him and held out a shirt and trousers.  
"Can you get changed by yourself, Varian?" You asked, holding out the clothes. He cocked his head to the side, then nodded enthusiastically.  
"Yeah!" he giggled, and you couldn't help but laugh.   
"Okay then, come find me when you're finished," you said, rubbing his head.  
You left the room, finally letting go of your breath. You hoped it was temporary, but you didn't hold your hope. You had no idea where to even start with alchemy, so you had no hope of reversing his condition. You let out a shuddery breath and a small laugh. How many girls could say that they were dating a four year old? Wait no, that's strange. Oh, you exclaimed to yourself, this whole situation was weird.   
"I'm finished!" A small voice chirped from behind you, and you turned to see Varian, his hands behind his back, wearing clothes that were still a little too big. Oh well. You grabbed hold of his hand and walked him over to the front door.   
"Where are we going?" Varian asked, rocking back and forth on his toes. You looked down at him.   
"We're going to the castle," you said, and Varian immediately lit up.   
"We're going to see 'Punzel!" He beamed and you laughed.   
"Sure, let's go see Rapunzel," you chuckled, and led Varian out of the door.   
\---------------------------------------------------  
"He WHAT!" Cassandra yelled, scaring Varian. He grabbed hold of your skirts tightly and moved behind you. You leant down to him and picked him up.   
"It's okay, she won't hurt you," you assured, and Varian nodded, so you put him back down. You nodded down to Varian at Cassandra, and she rolled her eyes, leaning down.   
"Hey, kid, how are y'doing?" She hesitated, softening her face. Varian blinked at her.  
"Cassie!" he sang, grabbing hold of her cheeks. Cassandra smiled slightly as she pushed his hands away.   
"Its Cass, Varian," she reminded, before turning away, insinuating for them to follow.   
"Okay Cassie!" Varian bounced, and ran after her, pulling you along. You could almost hear Cassandra's eyes roll.  
\--------------------------------------------  
"Oh (Y/N), who's this little guy!" Rapunzel gushed, tickling Varian's chin. You smiled.  
"That would be Varian, princess," you laughed. She stopped in her tracks, looking up at you.   
"What?" She asked, confused.   
"The idiot was making wrinkle cream, and de-aged himself 10 years," you sighed, and Varian stomped his foot in protest.   
"I am not an idiot," he argued, and crossed his arms.   
"Varian, I can't take you seriously when you look like that," you laughed, and Varian stomped his foot again, although he didn't say anything.   
"Oh, Varian, you do make a very cute child," Rapunzel giggled, "especially when you're throwing a strop." Varian opened his mouth to argue, but closed it again. Thank god he didn't have the teenage snark anymore.   
"Anyways, princess, could you send word to Xavier, I was hoping he might have something that could help," you asked, looking at Rapunzel, who nodded. Varian pulled on your skirts.   
"Yes, Varian?" You asked. He looked really nervous, and he was fiddling with his thumbs.   
"I love you," he whispered, and you smiled at him.   
"I love you, too, you idiot, but lets get you back to you," you said, and he nodded in agreement.   
"That's so cute!" Rapunzel squealed, and picked up Varian, spinning him around. Varian laughed with her, childlike wonder taking over. You grinned to yourself.   
\--------------------------------------------------  
Varian was sat on the bed with a picture book, invested in the drawings on each page. He swung his legs contently, and occasionally laughed at something he'd seen. There was a knock on the door, and Eugene walked in with a vial in hand.   
"O ho ho!" he exclaimed, looking at Varian on the bed, "Blondie wasn't kidding. He's adorable!"  
Varian looked up and stuck his tongue out, looking back down at his book, which just made Eugene laugh more.   
"Varian?" You asked, sweetly.   
"Yeah?" He said faintly, still focused on his book.   
"Eugene got the cure," you declared, and immediately the book was on the floor and Varian was by your side.   
"I don't want to be short anymore," he highlighted, and you smiled at him.   
"Varian, you were short before. Now, go get in the bed and cover your body with the blanket," you asked, and he ran off to do as you said.   
You took the vial from Eugene and walked over to Varian, now covered by the sheet. You gave him the vial, which he drunk quickly.   
Immediately his body began to smoke, and soon you couldn't even see him through the haze. You stepped back, watching intently at the scene in front of you, your heart pounding in your chest. Oh, you hoped it worked.   
Cough. Cough. You could hear raspy coughs coming from in the smoke.   
"Can I have my clothes?" Varian asked from inside the smoke, still coughing.   
You rushed forwards and jumped on him, pressing your face into his. Your lips connected for a second, before you pulled away and wrapped your arms around his bare torso.   
"Never. Do. That. Again," you demanded, and he had the gall to laugh at you, fiddling with your hair.  
"Dually noted," he smirked, and pressed his lips on yours once more. Eugene coughed.   
"Oh, right, sorry Eugene," you apologised, Varian blushing profusely. Silence fell for a while, and all three of them stood there awkwardly, until Varian broke the silence.   
"Can I have my clothes, please" He pleaded.   
You laughed.


	9. Chapter 9

"I love snow!" Rapunzel trilled, throwing the soft dust in the air as she spun around, her braid swinging as she did. Eugene stood behind her, his arms crossed, his face gloomy.   
"I hate snow," he grumbled, and ducked as Rapunzel's braid came flying at him again.   
You chuckled.   
"Come on Eugene, lighten up," you teased, balling some snow in between your gloved hands. He glared at you.   
"Kid no, don't, not the face," he pleaded, and you laughed.   
"Aim at his nose," Cassandra shouted as she laid across the bench, one arm behind her head, and one holding a knife, which she used to cut icicles off the tree branch above her. You smirked.   
"You got it, Cassie," you promised, and threw it at Eugene. He ducked, and it hit Rapunzel. Eugene laughed.   
"Sorry Blondie," he joked, and she shoved him. Cassandra raised her eyebrows.   
"Cassie? You've been spending too much time with Varian," she jested, her knife swinging at the hanging ice. You nodded your head.   
"I have been around his house a lot lately," you admitted. Eugene raised his eyebrows, and Rapunzel gasped.   
"You've got a crush!" She squealed, pointing at you.   
"Who's got a crush?" Someone asked from behind you. You spun around, face to face with Varian. He wore a thick coat that only fell to his hips, a green scarf pulled up over his mouth, and a baby blue beanie that hung loose at the back of his head, allowing his bangs to hang free. His nose was bright red, and his eyes were watering. He looked bloody freezing.  
"Oh, hey Varian," you said with no particular emotion. Cassandra sniggered.   
"Yeah, hi Varian," Rapunzel teased, and you shot her daggers.   
"Hey Raps, hey Cassie," Varian waved, and Cassandra snorted.   
"Cassie. See, I told you."   
You ignored her.   
"Varian are you okay, you look half frozen to death," you giggled, your hand rising to your mouth, the wool tickling your lips. Varian visibly shivered.   
"Yeah, no shit Sherlock," he said sarcastically, as you nudged him.   
"Hey, watch your language," You scolded, then tilted your head at him.   
"What does that even mean?"   
"I have absolutely no idea," he admitted, and you snorted.   
A guard walked up to Rapunzel and said something in her ear, something that made her bounce with delight.   
"Thank you, Stan!" She said excitedly as the guard walked away. She clapped her hands and hopped on her heels.   
"Guys, the hall has been decorated for the ball, he says we're free to go in now!" She squealed, Pascal crawling out of her pocket at the noise.   
"Anywhere is better than out here, its too cold," Cassandra shivered. Eugene smirked at her.   
"Really? I thought you'd be right in your element, Cassandra," he quipped, and everyone giggled, even Rapunzel. Cass ignored him, though, walking up the icy steps to the great doors of the castle.   
"You coming," she shouted behind her. Varian chattered his teeth.   
"I think Varian's physically frozen in place," you laughed, and playfully pulled at his arm. You could tell he was smiling at you, his eyes softly lighting up, muffled laughter coming from beneath his scarf. You blushed.   
"Come on freckles, wouldn't want you dying on me," you joked, and pulled Varian inside.   
\-----------------------------------------------   
You pushed Varian into a broom closet.   
"Wh- ow!" He exclaimed, rubbing his head. He looked around, observing the cramped place they were.   
"This is the most hidden closet in the castle, if Cass finds us here, she must be cheating," you explained, pulling the door closed. Varian wrinkled his nose.   
"It's also the smallest in the castle," he muttered, and you put your hands on his chest, which was very close to yours in the confined space. You smiled flirtatiously.   
"What? You upset to be close to me?" you teased, running your finger down his shoulder. He smiled.   
"Of course not," he smiled too, tracing your jawbone with the palm of his hand. He leant in and kissed you, his warm lips lighting up your frozen face. They were slightly chapped, but the grooves in his skin made it feel realer, as you could feel all the personalised indents as you pushed in harder. He pulled away, his face pink.   
"I still can't believe we've kept our relationship a secret for four months," you marvelled, and Varian laughed quietly.   
"It's been difficult. I wanted to kiss you so badly when we were outside," he purred, and you felt your face lighting up. Varian could be surprisingly seductive when he wanted to be. He could also be incredibly awkward. Both were cute.   
"Well, you know freckles, I'm still cold," you sniffled, "why don't you warm me up?" He smiled at that, and leant in again.   
You kissed him harder this time, holding his waist with one hand, as he held yours with both. Your noses squished together, and you held back a giggle as he moved his lips, kissing you harder. His height was a luxury you didn't afford to have, as he stood just a few inches above you, which wasn't much, but it was enough to make you feel secure and protected as he pushed his lips down on you. You breathed in heavily through your nose, and ran your hands up to his neck, where you wrapped your arms around it.  
"Found them," a voice chuckled from next to you, making you and Varian pull apart at once. Your faces both lit up red as you observed Cass, with Eugene, both staring directly at you. You were hyper conscious of the fact that you still had your hands in Varian's hair, and that his were still wrapped around your waist. You coughed and pulled your arms away, prompting your boyfriend to do the same.   
"Hi," you said, and Varian snorted.   
"Real smooth," he teased, his shoulder leaning against the wall. Cass stared at you, her face eyeing you like prey. Realisation hit you.  
"Don't tell Rapunzel," you pleaded.   
"What? Don't tell Rapunzel that we found you making out in the broom closet? Now, what kind of responsible adults would that make us?" Cassandra joked.   
"Responsible adult my ass," Varian muttered, so naturally, you hit him.   
"I didn't ask for your sarcasm, mister," you scorned, and he rested his head against the wall, looking at you out of the corner of his eye. You had to admit, the sight made your heart flutter, but you didn't show it.   
Eugene gagged.   
"I think I'm gonna throw up," he cringed, pointing his finger into his mouth.   
"I could say the same thing to you when you and Rapunzel do that nose rub thing," you added, and Eugene rolled his eyes.   
"Yeah, we rub noses. It's cute. We're not in public with tongues down each others throa-"  
"WE DIDN'T- EW EUGENE THATS GROSS- YEAH WHAT THE HELL?!" You and Varian chorused, disgusted looks on your face. Cassandra smiled.   
"Technically, they weren't in public, Ryder, we did bust in on them," she admitted.   
"Still," Eugene huffed.   
"Hey you found them!" Rapunzel ran over, her face completely oblivious. Her eyes glinted as she saw Varian and you.   
"That's an awfully small closet, isn't it," Rapunzel teased.   
You and Varian looked at each other, and then at Eugene and Cassandra.   
"You have no idea," you all laughed.


	10. Chapter 10

Your hands swung casually by your side as you wandered through the dense forestry, your eyes squinting through the blazing sunlight. Your hair swung rhythmically along your back, the few short hairs you had tickling the back of your neck. You could feel the soft grass through your worn soles, and as you walked throughout the shade of the towering trees, you could feel the soil cascading down their mounds as you stepped on them. The bottom of your dressed billowed slightly as you walked, the hem brushing just below your knees.   
You breathed in through your nose deeply as you stepped out into an open field, feeling the soft breeze once again. The grass was longer, but not unkempt, and littered with an assortment of flora, a sea of green and red and pink and-  
You fell over.   
Your ankle throbbed from your sudden fall, and your hands stung slightly. Your heart was fast from the surprise, but your head was cloudy, your ears blocked, and your vision widened when you looked down to see droplets of blood pooling beneath you. You scrambled up, and reached into your satchel for a tissue, which you then pressed hard against the wound on your forehead. You sat down, leaning backwards on your one hand - the other still applying pressure to your head - and yelped slightly as you felt something underneath you. It felt hard, and relatively large. You supposed it was what you fell over.   
You reached under your skirts and brought out a brown book, its pages ruffled and darkened with age, its cover tattered but strong, which applied to its binding, as well. It looked to have been heavily used, and your head pounded both with pain, and curiosity. You bit your lip as you pulled back the front cover to reveal...  
Nothing.   
A grand total of nothing.   
You stared at the page in front of you in disbelief, and flipped through the book to observe the others, which were blank also. You reached into your satchel and brought out a pencil. You hovered it over the page, your fingers shaking, but for some reason, you couldn't do it.   
"(Y/N)!" A high voice echoed. Your sister. You sighed, and deliberated for a second, before placing the book securely into your bag.   
"Coming, Rapunzel!" You yelled back, and started to make your way back to the border of your village.   
\----------------------------------------  
You sat down on your bed, bouncing slightly, as you observed the book. It hadn't changed, shocker, and the pages stared at you, their blankness almost mocking. You scoffed.   
"We'll see about that," you huffed at the book, which didn't respond.   
You brought out your pencil again, and hovered it over the page, debating what to write.   
You wrote down the first word that popped into your head.   
'Hello,' you wrote, the lead scratchy on the rough texture of the paper. You stared at it, your slightly scruffy writing standing omnipresent. You stared at it, and stared at it, and stared at it. Until...  
'Hello?'   
The word appeared on the page, in a completely different font to your handwriting, just beneath your writing. Your breath caught in your throat as you looked at the page, disbelief itching at your head, but your inquisitiveness egging you on.   
'Who is this?' You asked, the question stupid but straightforward. As if anyone wou-  
'How are you doing this?' The notebook asked. However, at this point, you seriously doubted it was the notebook. The general tone sounded like a human. Maybe there was a human trapped in the notebook?  
'I don't know, I found this book in the forest, and started writing in it. Who are you?' You asked again, the question unanswered and lingering in your mind.   
'Why should I trust you?' You read, and you furrowed your eyebrows. Whoever was writing this sounded scared. Paranoid.   
'Why should I trust you? For all I know you are some magic paedophile that's tricking me,' You wrote, your hand disconnected from any common sense that was still present in your brain.   
The words 'Magic doesn't exist' appeared on the page almost instantly, and you rolled your eyes.   
'Then how do you explain this?' You asked, and the notebook fell silent - so to speak.   
'What do you want?' It finally wrote back.   
'I don't want anything, I don't even know who you are,' You wrote, your writing scribbly with your speed.   
'Tell me who you are first,' The notebook demanded, and you physically sighed. Like, out loud. As if you were talking to a person.   
'No, you first,' You demanded.  
The notebook was silent.   
'My name's Varian,' it - no he - answered back, and you stopped in your tracks, your hand hovering over the name, which you recognised. You racked your brain. Oh!  
'Are you the Varian I keep hearing about? The one who did all those horrid things to the Princess?' You wrote quickly, realisation fuelling you. You decided it was probably best if you refrained from revealing that you were Rapunzel's sister.   
Silence.   
'I guess so,' he answered back. Your eyes went wide. You were speaking to a criminal, and not only a criminal, but the very criminal who almost tore your family apart in the most horrifying way possible. You were not present when everything happened; you were away visiting your Aunt Willow. But, when you had come back, Corona was no longer the bright and happy kingdom it once was. It had seemed in shock.   
'How did you get this book if you are in the dungeons?' You asked, generally curious.   
'The guards were sick of having to wipe my chalk drawings off the prison wall, so they gave me this to make their lives easier. I doubt they knew what it could do. They wouldn't have given it away otherwise. Then again, they aren't the smartest, so who knows?' He wrote back, and your eyes scanned the words as they appeared. Okay. He wasn't fond of the guards. Dually noted.   
'Why should I keep talking to you? You're a criminal,' You asked, your heart pounding as you awaiting his answer.   
'Please don't go,' He pleaded, 'I don't have anyone to talk to down here. I haven't had a conversation with anyone in almost a year.'   
You felt your heart pound in your chest. You felt sorry for him.   
'Fine. But, if we are to continue this little endeavour, you'll need to know my name. Yes?' You asked, aggression slipping into your tone, 'although I'm fairly sure that when you learn who I am, you won't want to talk to me anymore.'   
'I beg to differ,' Varian wrote back.   
'Okay then, here goes nothing. My name's (Y/N),' you informed, and you could almost feel the silence fall over the book.   
'Rapunzel's sister?' He wrote back, after a while.   
Not 'The princess', but 'Rapunzel's sister'. He was already associating you with her, which wasn't good. If you wanted to get information, you needed to be trusted.   
'I guess so, yes, although I wasn't around when everything went down. I'm sorry about what happened to your father,' You wrote, remembering Quirin's fate. Silence. You were really starting to get sick of that.   
'I'm sorry too. So, you're really the princess?' He asked, and you smiled to yourself. 'Princess'. You were getting somewhere.   
'Yeah, I am,' you answered back.   
'Why are you writing to me, after what happened?' Varian asked, and your mind went blank. You couldn't say, to gain information, although that answer was only half true.   
'Unlike some people, I believe in second chances,' You wrote. It was a low blow, that was true, but you needed to establish that you didn't agree with what he did.   
'Ouch.' He wrote back, and you laughed slightly.   
'Do you think I could come visit you?' You asked after a while, and waited for his response.   
'What have I got to lose?'  
\------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
You walked down into the dungeons, the moon shining through the prison cages, a hood pulled over your head. You were so lucky that your hair wasn't as long as Rapunzel's, because it made it easier to conceal yourself. You arrived at a guard, who stood at attention.  
"Who are you?" The guard asked, and you lifted your head to reveal your face.   
"Your majesty," he bowed, "why are you here?"  
"I am here to see Varian," you said confidently, "do not speak to anyone of this, especially my father."  
The guard nodded, and began to lead you down the dingy corridor.   
Prisoners grabbed for your ankles, and you kicked their hands away, lightly. The guard stopped in front of a small cell, the majority of it hidden from the view you had from the door. The guard opened the door, and gestured for you to go in, before closing the door. You waited until you could hear his footsteps disappear down the hall, before you turned.   
He was curled into a small ball on the bench, his head in his knees and his arms hanging over the edge. Slight snores were audible, and muffled by his black hair, which hung over his face, the blue streak visible and striking. A tattered shirt both clung to and hung off his frail body, and his legs were covered by ripped trousers. His feet were bare, and cuffed, and so were his hands. Dirt and blood mixed together on the sole of his feet.   
He was asleep.   
You sat next to him on the bench, his head closest to you. You looked down at his body, observing the rise and fall over his chest. You placed your hand on his shoulder and shook it, and immediately he woke up.   
He sat up suddenly, bashing his head into yours. You reeled backwards, your hand raised to your forehead. Luckily, he had missed your cut, which would have started to bleed again for sure. His eyes were blue; frantic, and he stared at you in surprise and question.   
"I didn't actually think you'd come," He said in disbelief, and you tilted your head.   
"Why?" You asked, and he scoffed.   
"Well, the Royal Family has a penance for going back on their word," he laughed harshly, his voice hoarse and raspy. He was dehydrated; his lips cracked and dry. You completely ignored his remark, and instead smiled at him, as warmly as you could.   
"Consider me unique," you smiled, and he just stared at you. Like he couldn't decide what to think.   
"Where's your book?" You asked, and Varian shook his head.   
"I tried to stop them, but the guards came and took it away. Per order of the King," he grimaced, his hands fiddling with each other, "luckily I was able to rip out the page we wrote on before they came, but it went blank as soon as I took it out." You pursed your lips.  
"So the magic is in the binding then? The cover?"   
"I wouldn't say magic, but whatever it is seems to be in the cover, yes," he confirmed, sort of, and looked at you.   
"Well, fiddlesticks," you swore, and Varian laughed, genuinely this time. Although, he seemed to bite back on his tongue as soon as he did. You looked at him curiously, trying to figure him out. He didn't give off the vibes of a criminal, and he certainly didn't look dangerous or intimidating.   
He just looked like a tired 15 year old.   
You decided you couldn't decide yet.   
You'd have to come back. 

\---------- 1 YEAR LATER ----------

"(Y/N), hey!" You heard as you closed the cell door behind you. Varian rushed over, no longer bound by his cuffs, and engulfed you in a hug. You wrapped your arms around his shoulders as well, a smile on your face. He'd gotten taller.   
"Hey!" You laughed as he pulled away, beaming at you, his slim face covered with grime.   
"I haven't seen you in ages!" He exclaimed, complain in his voice.   
"I know, 3 months is a long time," you confirmed as he led you over to his bench, "but I had to go. Royal duties and all." He pouted.  
"But did you have to be gone that long," he whined, his arms raising dramatically into the air. You giggled.   
"I don't know, but its not really up to me," you said, looking at him.   
And he looked back at you.   
"Did you tell your sister?" Varian asked, worry nipping at his voice. You sighed.   
"No, I couldn't. I got close to telling her though, but I couldn't do that to you," you said, and Varian let out a not-so-subtle sigh of relief.   
"You know what they'd do if they found out, don't you?" You said, quietly, and Varian nodded.   
"I can't even imagine a life without you, (Y/N)," he admitted, and you smiled in agreement, and placed your hand on his.   
"I know the feeling," you smiled.  
"You know you've changed," you said to him, and he raised his eyebrow in question.   
"Oh?" He asked, and you gestured to him.   
"You're taller than before," you pointed out, and he laughed.   
"And you're shorter," he joked; you punched him.   
You both sat there, soon after, in silence as you stared at each other. It wasn't awkward, nor angry, but there was a question in the air, that Varian seemed to be asking.   
Can I kiss you?  
You placed your hand on his shoulder and scooted closer to him, your face constantly on his.   
You guessed he got the message, since he then kissed you.   
All your worry melted away as you sunk into his arms, your mouth moving with his, your lips experiencing a sensation entirely new to them. You brought your hand up to his face, and pulled away, your face red and breaths long. He was the same.  
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS GOING ON HERE?" A voice shrieked from the doorway. Instinctively you grabbed hold of Varian's hand, and he held on to yours as he glared at the woman.   
"Cassandra, I was just, its not what it looks like!" You stuttered, choking down tears. Varian hadn't moved; he was frozen in place.   
You finally realised what intimidating looked like on him.   
"(Y/N), come with me," Cassandra said, her voice both demanding and pleading.   
"No," you said defiantly, and she grabbed your arm.   
Varian moved quickly, and grasped her forearm, pulling her from you. He stood taller than her, and the two of them stared at each other. You suspected neither had seen each other since the Battle of Old Corona. Varian matched Cassandra's glare with his own, and you stared in wonder. You had never met anyone that didn't falter under her stare; usually people were scared of her.   
"Let go of me," Cassandra hissed, and Varian let go of her arm, stepping backwards.   
"Sorry Cassie," he taunted, his voice laced with malicious intent. Cassandra walked up to him, looking directly into his face.  
"Call me that again, and I'll run you through with my sword," she threatened, but something about her tone seemed off. Like she was... scared. Cassandra was scared of Varian.   
Varian just looked at her, a smirk tugging at his lips, his arms folded across his chest. You looked at him, and he caught your stare. 'I'm sorry,' you mouthed with watery eyes, and he smiled warmly at you. Cassandra caught the drift, scoffing at Varian and dragging you out.   
You heard the slam of the cell door behind you, and stifled a sob. You would see him again.   
You had too.  
\--------------------------------------------------  
"(Y/N), would you care to explain yourself?" Your father boomed, his anger shaking the throne room. You flinched slightly, but held your ground, your head high.   
"Not particularly," you quipped, and Rapunzel placed her hand on your shoulder. You looked away.  
"Please, (Y/N), we just want to understand, we're all so confused," she pleaded, and you looked back up at her.   
"Fine," you spat, and faced your father again.   
"I first met with Varian about a year ago, as I was curious about that had happened whilst I was away visiting Aunt Willow," you lied. It wasn't a complete lie, though.   
"When I went to see him, I was surprised, because I wasn't confronted with a dangerous monster. I was confronted with a scared and frail boy. I spoke to him, and I continued to visit him in secret. We became good friends. I trust him," you said, and your father curled his lip.   
"Cassandra said that when she found you, you were..." he gestured with his hands.  
"Kissing? Yeah, I guess that's what happens when you love someone," you said, surprising yourself. Did you... did you just say that you loved him?  
Everyone in the throne room looked shocked in one way or the other. Your mother gasped, her hands over her mouth. Your father had a strange glint in his eye, and his face hardened. Rapunzel, oh Rapunzel. She was smiling slightly, her hand on her heart. She stood up and walked over to you, putting her arm around you.   
"Dad," Rapunzel said quietly, "you forgave Eugene, for me. This is no different, and Varian is only a child. I suspect he's not only grown physically in these past years. Trust (Y/N) on this. She has good judgement."   
You looked at your sister, tears welling up in your eyes. She stood up for you, for Varian.   
Your father straightened his back.   
"I suppose, if we were to have the boy under close watch, he could be released on probation," your mother cut in, her smile soft and loving. You stared at her, unsure of what to say. Turns out you didn't need to say anything. You rushed up to her and hugged her tightly, finally letting out all of your tears. She beckoned at someone.   
"(Y/N)," a voice said from behind you.   
Varian.   
He was held by two guards, his hands cuffed and his face streaky from crying.   
And he smiled at you.   
"Varian!" You yelled, running into his arms, which of course, were cuffed. You both fell over, the guards letting go of him. You landed on top of him, your lips on his, as you grinned through the kiss.   
"So, you love me, huh?" Varian said quietly, and you laughed.  
"Of course I do," you cried, tears running down your face. You heard the clattering of chains as Varian brought his hand up to your face, sitting up, you in his lap. He wiped your tears.   
"I love you too, (Y/N)," he admitted, and you pulled him in for a kiss.   
"Ahem," someone coughed, and you looked to see Rapunzel, stood behind you, her arms behind her back.   
You stood up, helping Varian up. You both stared at her, and Rapunzel stared at you.   
"I'm happy for you," she beamed, but her smile was directed at Varian. He looked taken aback, but slowly smiled too.   
"Thank you, Rapunzel," he said, holding his hand out (his other in close tow, unable to move from the handcuffs). She slapped it aside, and pulled him into a hug.   
You saw him stiffen, then relax, as he buried his face into her shoulder.   
You ran at them, wrapping your arms around your new boyfriend and your sister, who both laughed.   
Unlikely friends.   
Yeah right.   
Unlikely lovers.


	11. Chapter 11

You and your sister where always close. You did everything together, including the things that you probably shouldn't have done. You remembered one time your parents entrusted you both to buy a cake for your grandma's birthday. Now, you didn't like your grandma. Needless to say, the message on the cake wasn't... the nicest. But, oh man, did you and your sister have a good laugh over that!  
You remembered how happy you had been when your parents had announced a family holiday, how excited you had been to spend the summer away with them.   
Yeah. You remembered what it was like to feel happy.  
You wiped your eyes with the back of your hand as you stared down at the harsh stone, crudely carved into a rectangular shape, and then stuck in the ground and not given a second thought. Her name, it sat engraved there, and you sobbed when you thought of how in years to come, that name would fade with age. You bit the side of your thumb as you began to cry harder, closing your eyes in anguish. You just didn't want to be alone.   
And that was when you heard the faint sound of crying, coming from around the corner. You wiped your eyes once more, although your face was still reminiscent of the tears, and walked towards the noise. The tears sounded young, the sobs mirroring your own. You stood at the corner, and watched, frozen, as a boy your age sat knelt in front of a gravestone, his gloved hands covering his face. You deliberated for a moment, before walking over to him.  
"Are you okay?" You asked, although it was a silly question. He didn't look at you.   
Of course he didn't. This was a cemetery. He probably didn't want anyone near him, and you bit back on your lips. There was something about him; you just couldn't leave him. You knelt down next to him, and put your hand on his shoulder.   
"Are you okay?" You asked again, and he looked up at you, with shock on his face.   
"(Y/N)?" He asked, and you gasped.   
"Varian!" You exclaimed, pulling him into a hug, before letting go in embarrassment.   
"Sorry," you said sheepishly, and looked at him. Boy, he'd changed.   
"You look different," Varian said, wiping his eyes, trying to appear strong.   
"Yeah, well last time I saw you, we were what, thirteen?" You said, rubbing your arm. You stood up, and he followed your action.   
"Four years," he said in disbelief, and you looked up at him, then back down at the headstone, reading the writing.   
"Oh my goodness, Varian I'm so sorry," you said, crying again. Varian's eyes widened as he saw your tears, and pulled you into a hug.  
"It's okay, it was a long time ago," he comforted, and you looked up at him, seeing as he'd grown taller than you.   
"What happened?" You asked, sniffing.   
"It was a lab accident. He got trapped in some kind of impenetrable amber, and I couldn't get him out. When I did... he wasn't breathing. He hadn't been for some time," Varian recalled, his own eyes welling up with tears. You placed your hand on his shoulder, your hand shaky.   
"I'm sorry," you said, feeling helpless. He shrugged.   
"Nothing you could have done," he said, and you could tell he didn't want to talk about it anymore. You looked down.   
"Why are you here?" He asked, still looking at the headstone.   
"(S/N) died," you said, your face stone, and Varian's eyes went wide.   
"Wha-how?" He questioned, confused.  
"Landslide. The cart got trapped under some rocks and she got crushed," you said, the recollection of the story causing a ball of heat to well up in your chest.   
"Sorry to sound so cliché, but I'm sorry," Varian consoled, his arm on your shoulder. You laughed through your tears.   
"Nothing you could have done," you parroted, and Varian looked at you, half worried, half impressed that you were making a joke. You looked up at him, and his sparkling, blue eyes looked into your own, his freckled cheeks stained with tears. He cleared his throat.   
"It's getting cold," he observed, and you shivered in agreement.   
"How about you come back to my place," he said, "and we warm up a bit?"  
You smiled at him.   
"I'd like that," you admitted, and he took your arm.   
"Milady," he joked, and you swatted his arm away. You appreciated his jokes at this moment in time. They made you feel better.   
"M'lord," you joked back, and he rolled his eyes.   
\------------------------------------------------------------  
You rubbed your thumb over the side of the cup, the condensation making your hand wet, but the heat making it hot. You sat criss-cross on the floor, your back against the wall of Varian's lab. The stone bricks didn't exactly make for a warm atmosphere, but the vibrant colours of the chemicals that were dotted around the room definitely made for an interesting one.   
You heard the door creak, and Varian walked back in.   
"Sorry for taking so long, I had no idea where all the blankets were," he admitted, and sat next to you, his knees bent at a right angle. He pulled a blanket over your shoulders, and you blushed slightly. He then did the same to himself. You reached down next to you and gave him his tea, which he took with a smile on his face.   
"Thanks," he said gently, and his tone made your heart do a little loop, although you had no idea why.   
You stared at him, and noted down everything that had changed. Even sitting down, he was taller than you by a couple of inches, eve though most of his height seemed to be in his legs. He looked slimmer in the face, and his baby cheeks were gone. His freckles seemed to have multiplied, and his hair was thicker, and slightly longer. Definitely messier. His nose was still button-like and upturned, and his skin was still a soft tan, but he looked so different and similar at the same time. His jawbone was sharper, more defined, and you observed the curve of his Adam's apple on his neck. You smiled to yourself. He truly had grown up.   
Of course, you yourself had grown, however you could hardly be surprised by that. You had seen yourself everyday, after all.   
"(Y/N)?" Varian asked, and his voice made you jump. You regained yourself.   
"Yeah, Varian," you answered, taking a sip of your tea. Varian gulped slightly.  
"Do you know what happened?" He said vaguely, and you looked at him in confusion.   
"What do you mean?" You asked, and he waved his hand in dismissal.   
"Doesn't matter," he concluded and you looked at him, curious. He glanced at you out of the corner of his eyes, before taking an unnecessarily long sip of his tea. You decided not to pursue it.  
"So, what inventions has the great Varian been working on whilst I've been away?" You teased, half interested. Varian raised his eyebrows at you, and you nodded your head, gesturing for him to tell you.   
"Well, there have been a couple of different ones..." he started, and you listened intently. His arms waved around as he talked, especially when he got excited.   
"Ow!" You complained, your hand rising to your forehead instinctively. Varian gasped, pulling his arm back.  
"Shit!" he yelped, and lent in front of you. He fussed over you, but you were in pain and was hardly paying attention.   
"I'm so, so sorry (Y/N), I don't know what happened, I just get too excited, you know me," he rambled, and you opened your eyes slightly. Varian put his hand on your forehead, and pried your hand from it.   
He was quite close to you.   
He observed your forehead, his eyes still in shock and his apology still on his lips. You opened your eyes fully, and saw the concerned look on his face.   
"Var, I'm fine," you assured, and he looked down at you.   
"You sure?" He cautioned, and you put your hand on his knee.   
"I'm sure," you confirmed, but Varian didn't move away. You sat there, him in front of you, your knees touching. You looked at his eyes as they focused on yours.   
Suddenly, Varian leaned into you, your lips meeting. It was brief, innocent, and impromptu. His lips only grazed yours, hardly enough to call it a kiss, and it had been too short for you to properly embrace it. He leaned backwards, his face red, and the heat on yours suggested that you were blushing too.   
"I'm so sorry, (Y/N), I don't know what came over me," he scrambled, and you raised your fingers to your lips, grazing them as he did. You smiled.   
"Var," you said, but he didn't hear you.   
"Var!" You said again, a little more forcefully, and he turned to look at you. You laughed.   
"Don't apologise," you implored, "I liked it." He widened his eyes. You patted the space next to you, and cautiously he crawled over, sitting down rather close to you.   
"You did?" he said, unsure. You smiled at him.   
"Of course I did, you idiot," you said, punching him lightly.   
"Ow," he said softly, smiling at you. You raised your hand to his face, and ran your fingertips through his hair.   
"Kiss me again," you said, slightly dominant, and Varian was happy to oblige.   
He leant in to you, pressing his lips into yours, placing his hand on your cheek softly to stabilise you. You pulled away slightly, and leant in more forcefully, surprising him. Your foreheads met a couple of times as you kissed him, making you both smirk through each others embrace. The imperfection of the kiss made it so perfect, made it more real.   
You pulled away, and smiled fondly at him. He did the same to you, his hand still in your hair. You leant forwards and put your head on his, deliberately this time, and whispered to him.   
"Thank you."  
Varian laughed.   
"What kind of person thanks someone after kissing them?" he snorted. You punched him.   
"Obviously, I do," You teased, and he nodded.   
"Fair enough," he said, and grabbed some of your blanket.   
"Hey!" You complained and he shrugged,   
"I'm cold."  
"There isn't enough blanket for the both of us," you stated, and he curled his lip.   
"Why don't you just grab yours?" You asked, and Varian shook his head.   
"No, too simple," he clarified, before smiling slyly at you.   
He pulled you in between his legs, his chin on your head, and wrapped his arms securely around you. The blanket draped itself over you both, and you smirked up at Varian.   
"Well played," you said, and he rolled his eyes, pulling you closer.   
-  
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At least he wasn't alone anymore.   
And neither were you.


	12. Chapter 12

You rubbed the side of your glass, deep in thought. You were hardly paying attention to your surroundings, the bustling of party-goers overwhelming. Eugene - famous for his exuberant ideas - had decided it would be a good idea to throw a masquerade ball for Rapunzel's birthday. And, you had to admit, it wasn't one of his worse ideas. In fact, the party seemed to be lively and the guests seemed to be having a good time. It's just... you weren't.   
Parties weren't really your scene, but Cassandra had dragged you along, saying that if she had to attend in a fancy dress, so did you. Which made no sense, whatsoever.   
You absent-mindedly scratched underneath your mask, which was a deep shade of red, swirling, yellow patterns taking up most of the surface. It covered the left side of your face, but stopped just above your mouth. Your dress matched the mask, and you had to admit it was pretty.   
It was the same shade of red as your mask, and gave the impression that you were floating, even though the hem stopped about halfway between your knees and your feet. Yellow engulfed the bottom, transitioning into the overall colour, and came out of your waist, where it was synched inwards. It was tight, uncomfortable, and impractical, but hey at least it looked good, right?  
You glanced around, and spotted Rapunzel, in all her queenly glory, spinning around on her own in the centre of the dance floor. You laughed a little bit, and shook your head. Only her.   
See, the problem with this party was that it was just so mind-numbingly boring, because no one had approached you all night. Maybe that was due to the fact that you were leant against the wall at the back of the ballroom, and hadn't interacted with anyone at all. But, as you said, parties weren't really your thing. Neither were people, to be perfectly honest. You swirled the purple liquid in your cup, and placed it down on a table next to you. No way were you getting drunk.   
"Fun party, huh?" Someone said from beside you, causing you to jump slightly. You looked over at the stranger, scowling a little bit.   
"Splendid," you retorted, brushing off your dress and crossing your arms. He raised his eyebrows.   
Mister Mystery - or whatever his name was - was wearing a white shirt with a dark blue overcoat. It was neither glamourous, nor expensive, but hey, at least it was practical (unlike yours). You had to admit though, the simplicity of it looked good on him. The top half of his face was covered with a light blue mask, a crescent moon and stars dancing in one corner. His nose was freckled, from what you could see, and his eyes were the same blue as the mask. His hair was black and messy, a single teal strip going through it. He was tall and slim, and radiated an aura of moodiness. And strapped around his ankle was a knife, covered in a sheath the same colour as his trousers.   
You looked at him.   
"Is that a knife?" You asked, and his top lip raised slightly in humour.   
"Would you believe me if I said no?" He retorted, and you stared at him, not quite sure what to think. You decided to play ball, I mean, how dangerous could he be?  
You stuck your hand out.   
"The name's (Y/N)," you introduced, and the man shook your hand firmly. You waited.   
"Aren't you going to tell me yours?" You said impatiently, and the man smiled.   
"No," he said plainly, and leant backwards against the wall, one of his feet resting against it.   
"You don't look to be enjoying yourself," you observed, trying to make small talk. It would be awkward if you both just stood there.   
"Parties aren't really my thing," he disclosed and you snorted slightly. He looked at you.   
"Would never have guessed," you teased, your hands waving with your sarcasm. He laughed slightly; it was a rather happy sound. You glanced over at the grandfather clock. 9 O'clock. Damn.   
"Well don't worry, we only have five hours until the party ends," you assured, and he groaned slightly.   
You laughed.   
"So, mister, what are you doing here if you don't like parties, huh?" You asked curiously, raising an eyebrows raised. He looked at you, deliberating.   
"I honestly have no idea," he admitted, and you giggled. What was with you tonight?  
You looked at the grandfather clock.   
"So we have about 4 hours and 58 minutes until the party ends," you said, and he looked at you.  
"If you are going to do that every 2 minutes I'm leaving," he joked, but he was half serious. You sighed in exasperation.   
"No," you said plainly, "what I meant is: would you like to dance with me?"  
He looked at you, in slight shock it seemed, and shrugged his shoulders.   
"Why not?" He said to himself, and you grabbed his arm, pulling him out onto the dance floor.   
He placed his hands on your waist, gingerly, and you placed yours around his neck, looking at him. Although... he wasn't looking at you, but at his feet.   
"Do you know how to dance?" You asked, and he furrowed his eyebrows.   
"Not really," he admitted, and you snorted.   
"You came to a ball, and didn't learn how to dance?" You raised your eyebrows.   
"I've never really had a use for it before," he answered, "girls don't usually ask me to dance, especially pretty ones."   
You felt yourself blush.   
"Well, how about I teach you? It's easy!" You assured, and he laughed a little, smiling.   
"Sure," he said, biting his lower lip. You nodded seriously.   
"Follow my lead," you said, and began to sway on the spot. He looked at you after a while of looking at his feet.   
"Aren't we supposed to move around?" He asked, and you shook your head.   
"That's harder, and exercise," you moaned, and he laughed.   
"Swaying it is," he clarified, and tightened his grip on your waist, pulling you slightly closer.   
"Hey, (Y/N)!" Rapunzel yelled, and came swirling over to you. You broke away from your partner, who had suddenly gone rather tense.   
"I haven't seen you all night," she complained, and raised her eyebrows at the man standing besides you. She raised her eyebrows.   
"Who's this?" She said playfully. You sighed.   
"I have absolutely no idea, he won't tell me," you moaned, crossing your arms and looking up at him. His face was stony, and expressionless, as he looked at the princess.   
"Oh, man of the night, hey?" Rapunzel joked. You snorted and your partner raised his eyebrows.   
"Do you have any idea what that means?" You choked, and Freckles (you had decided to call him Freckles) smirked.   
"Yeah, it means he likes the darkness, right?" She said, her innocence shining through.   
"No, no Rapunzel it doesn't," you laughed slightly, "but for all I know he could be one." You looked at Freckles.   
"I can assure you, I'm not," he said coldly, his gaze fixed on the Princess. Odd. He wasn't like this before.   
"Sorry to leave, but I have to make my speech!" Rapunzel yelped, and rushed over to the stage, where Eugene was waiting for her. You laughed a little bit.   
"So naïve," you giggled, and looked at Freckles, who had seemed to relax a little bit.   
"Hey, what was that?" You asked, nudging him slightly.   
"Nothing," he said quickly.   
"How about we watch the Princess's speech?" He said, holding his hand out to you, bowing slightly, although his head was fixed permanently on Rapunzel.   
You hesitated, before taking his hand.   
"Sure."

Rapunzel walked onto the stage, and put her arms behind her back, swinging slightly on her heels as she waited for everyone to listen. But, no one did. Eugene tried to help, by coughing, but ultimately, the crowd was focused on other things.   
Freckles smirked besides you, and you elbowed him in the side.   
"SHUT IT!" Cassandra shouted, and the ballroom halted, all turning to Rapunzel, who waved slightly. She took a deep breath in, and began.   
"People of Corona, thank you for coming," she started, and the crowd burst into applause. So did you, until you looked at Freckles, who was standing with his arms crossed. The crowd died down.   
"As you know, today is my 29th birthday! I would like to thank my husband, Eugene, for this wonderful party. You did a wonderful job," she smiled sweetly at Eugene, who finger-gunned back at her, "and I would like to thank the Captain of the Guards and my best friend, Cassandra, for making sure that the theatrics didn't get to out of hand." The crowd laughs, and you giggle a bit behind your hand.   
"But, this day doesn't just mark my 29th birthday," Rapunzel admitted. Freckles raised his eyebrows; finally looking interested, "it also marks the tenth anniversary of the Battle of Old Corona."  
The crowd murmured in suspense, and recollection.  
"As some of you may know, we apprehended and incarcerated the culprit of said attack; a dangerous alchemist named Varian. However, what some of you may not know, is that he escaped shortly after capture, with some other inmates. We haven't heard from him since then, which is an upside, however since this marks two occasions he may be interested in, we ask you to be on edge."  
Rapunzel beckoned two guards up onto the stage, who were holding a large scroll of paper, suspended on some poles. They unravelled it to reveal a painting of a boy.  
"This is a painting of him from just after his escape," Rapunzel cleared, and gestured for the crowd to look at it. You frowned at the photo. It looked... familiar, in a way. However, before you could place it, the guards rolled the scroll back up, and Rapunzel smiled again.   
"Now, that's enough of that. Go, have fun!" She said, and the crowd snapped out of it's shock, beginning to mingle and talk again. You turned to Freckles.   
"Hey?" You waved your hand in front of his face, "earth to... uhhh... whatever your name is."   
He turned to you, and his face softened slightly.   
"I... think I need some air," he announced, and turned to walk out of the ballroom. You grabbed his arm.   
"Can I come with?" You asked, and he looked down in deliberation. He sighed, and jerked his head towards the door. You smiled and jogged after him.   
\-------------------------------------------------------  
The castle gardens were lit up with fireflies and various luminescent flowers, making everything glow magically. The castle slowly grew smaller as you walked away from it, your head to the ground. After walking out with Freckles, he hadn't said one word.   
"Hey," you said softly, and tugged on his shirt sleeve, and he looked at you. You pointed towards a bench, before dragging him over to it. You both sat down, your hand on his knee.  
"What's wrong?" You asked, and he scoffed.   
"That's not as easy to explain as you may think it is," he answered vaguely, "besides, why do you care? You don't even know me."   
You sighed, and looked up at him.   
"That's true... but at the same time I feel like I know you really well," you admitted, and he looked at you, eyebrows raised.   
"'Loner, gone it alone for years, world cast you aside' kind of guy?" You asked, and he laughed slightly.   
"Pretty much," he nodded, and you nudged him with your shoulder.   
"So come on, what's up?" He looked down and gulped.   
"I'm sorry," he said, and you rubbed his leg in comfort.   
"It's okay," you said softly. He looked at you, and you looked at him. And slowly, but surely, both your sights drifted down to each others lips. You stayed there for a while.   
He leant in and kissed you softly, innocent and brief, pulling away almost as soon as he connected with you.   
"I shouldn't have done that," he murmured to himself, and began to get up. You grabbed his arm, spun him around, and pushed your mouth on his.   
He stumbled back in surprise, and placed his arm around your waist to stabilise himself. You put one of your hands on his cheek and pushed into him further. He fell over, and you went tumbling with him, and in surprise, you bashed your forehead on his.   
"Ow," you both complained, sitting up, you in his lap. He stared at you, smiling slightly in disbelief as he rubbed his head. Your eyes widened.   
"Uhh, buddy? You've got someth-" You warned, but it was too late. Freckles looked down at his hand, which was covered in blood from a cut on his forehead.   
"Oh that's grea-" He started, but fainted before he could finish his sentence. You started to panic.   
"HELP! HELP!" You yelled in desperation, and two guards ran over.   
"He fainted, I think maybe he's got a concussion, or... or-" you said, whilst one of the guards picked him up bridal style, and began to carry him towards the castle, you in close tow.   
\------------------------------------------------  
Freckles stirred, and groaned, his hand raising to his bandaged head. You sat at the side of his bed, holding his other hand tightly. He sat up, and blinked a couple of times, before staring at his surroundings.   
"Where am I?" He asked, and looked at you.   
"You're in the castle infirmary," you said, squeezing his hand, "do you remember what happened?"  
Freckles looked at you, and finally you could see the entirety of his face. The freckles rose slightly above his nose, and his cheeks were flushed, although that could have just been from shock. He pulled his covers up to cover his bare chest, which was free due to blood that had covered his shirt.  
He nodded at your question.   
"Yeah," he confirmed.   
"The doctors said you didn't have a concussion, so that's good," you assured, "although they couldn't figure out why you fainted." Freckles laughed slightly.   
"I have hemophobia," he divulged, and you nodded.   
"Fear of blood, right?" You asked, and he nodded.   
"What time is it?" He asked, and you shrugged.   
"I dunno, you haven't been out that long. Like ten, ten thirty, maybe?" You said, and he sighed, pulling the covers off him.   
"Whoa, whoa, where are you going?" You said, and he stopped.   
"I can't stay here," he answered vaguely, and you groaned.   
"What a clear answer, but I'm afraid, my dear sir, that I can't let you leave," you said, and he looked at you. You raised your eyebrows.   
"Fine," he said, and slumped back into bed.   
"Sooooo we've danced, kissed, and you've fainted," you recalled, and he nodded, a smile pulling at his lips.   
"And you still won't tell me your name?" You asked, and he grimaced.   
"Fine," he started, but as he opened his mouth to speak, the doors to the infirmary opened, and Rapunzel came running in.   
"I heard what happened, are you okay?" She fussed, leaning over the bed. Freckles leant backwards slightly, and looked up at her, his expression neutral and slightly scary.   
"Never better," he said, but Rapunzel didn't leave.   
"Jeez, Raps, give the man some space," a voice said from behind her. Cassandra came in, her dress replaced with a guards outfit, her helmet under her arm. Rapunzel laughed.   
"Sorry," she giggled, and sat down at the end of his bed.   
"Hey man, you good?" Cassandra asked, and Freckles nodded. Cassandra squinted.   
"Hey, have we met before," she asked, and Freckles shook his head a little too keenly.   
"No, we haven't," he said, and leant backwards on the bed a little further. Cassandra didn't look convinced.   
"Do you know why he fainted?" Rapunzel asked, and you opened your mouth to speak, but you were cut across.   
"I hit my head on a rock," Freckles lied, and you raised your eyebrows at him. He caught your stare and looked away.   
"Y-yeah," you agreed, turning back to Rapunzel, "it was a big rock."   
Rapunzel pouted in sympathy.   
"Well, let me know if you need anything, okay?" She said, looking at Freckles, who nodded once at her.   
"Gotta get back to the party, can't leave Eugene in charge for long," Cassandra said, beckoning her towards the door. Rapunzel waved at you, and then skipped out of the door, which shut soon afterwards. You spun around to Freckles.   
"What was that?" You asked, maybe a little too forcefully, because he nearly fell off the bed.   
"What was what?" He answered innocently, shifting back into the centre of the mattress.   
"You know what the hell I'm talking about," you said, half shouting. He flinched. "You just lied to the Queen of Corona."   
Freckles looked unfazed by your accusation, and you scoffed, looking at him.   
You focused in on his freckles, and his nose. You focused in on his now messier black hair, and the single streak of blue that ran through it. You focused on his hardened expression, and on his blue eyes, set on yours.   
"What's your name?" You asked quietly, and he looked down at the floor.   
"What's. Your. Name?" You shouted and he flinched away from you.   
"Well, (Y/N), by the way that you are shouting at me, it seems as if you already know," he said, straightening his back. You stared at him, tears in your eyes.   
"Why the hell did you come back here, Varian?" You spat, looking at him.   
"I came to apologise," he answered, his voice shaking.   
"What?" You asked confused, leaning backwards a little bit.   
"But, then she made that goddamn speech," Varian laughed, and you swore you could see tears welling up in his eyes.   
You brought his knife out from behind you, and gave it to him.   
"In case anything went wrong," he confirmed, and you sighed a little bit.   
"Why didn't you tell me from the beginning?" You said, placing your hand on his. He looked at you softly.   
"Would you have danced with me, if you knew who I was?" He asked, and you smiled.   
"I know who you are now," you said, and leant in to his face a little more. He looked up at you.   
You leant in to him, kissing him gently, your hand moving up to his knee. He placed his hand on your face. You both pulled away, and Varian's face was bright red, and he was smiling at you, his hand still on your cheek.   
"GUARDS!" A shrill voice yelled, and the nurse came running through the infirmary, and out of the doors.   
"HE'S HERE! VARIAN!" She screeched, and Varian's eyes went wide. He spun around, getting out of bed, and pulled on his shirt, the blood stain still on it. He reached into his back pocket, and brought out a pair of goggles, which he placed on his head, his bangs trapped under the lenses. He grabbed the knife, and pushed it into the sheath, which was now attached to his waist. He grabbed a vial of... something and held it in his hand. Your eyes went wide when you realised what he was planning to do.   
"No, you can't fight your way out! They'll kill you!" You screamed, pulling at his arm. He set his jaw.   
"Do you have a better idea?" He asked, and your words caught in your throat.   
"Let me talk to them," you said, calmly, looking up at him, "please."   
He shook his head, but you pulled him in for a quick but hard kiss.   
"Please?" You begged, and he swallowed, but didn't move, allowing you to go forwards.   
You ran out of the doors, closing them, and stood at the handles as you watched Cassandra run down the hallway.   
"(Y/N), let me in," she growled, and you shook your head.   
"Please listen to me," you pleaded, and she glared at you, her hand on the hilt of her sword.  
"I can't let him get away again," she warned, and tightened her grip on her blade.  
"He won't hurt anyone, he's scared!" You yelled, as more guards came running down the corridor, "he came here to speak to the princess, to apologise!"  
"And scared he should be," Cassandra snarled, placing her hands on your shoulder, pulling you out the way.   
"Cassandra, wait!" Rapunzel screamed, running through the hoards of guards, her bare feet hardly making any noise on the floor. She stopped in front of you and Cass, breathing heavily.   
"Let me speak to him," she urged, and Cassandra gritted her teeth.   
You smiled softly, your head aching, and opened the doors slowly so Varian knew it was you. Rapunzel walked in, and Cassandra followed. You closed the doors on the other guards, and Cassandra looked as if she wanted to protest, but you wouldn't allow her.   
You turned around to a seemingly empty room.   
"He's not here, he escaped!" Cassandra yelled, stomping her foot.   
"No, he wouldn't. I asked him to stay," you said, and walked over to the back of the room, where there was a small supply closet. You placed your hand on the wooden frame.   
"Varian?" You asked. No answer, but you could hear his rapid breathing through the door.   
"Varian, they won't hurt you," you assured, and he still didn't answer.   
"Varian, please?" You said, your words caught in your throat, your voice cracking. You lowered your head to the ground, and let out a small sob, tears beginning to run out of your eyes. Your hand instinctively moved away from the door as it opened, revealing Varian.   
He stood there, a knife in his hand, his face neutral and expressionless, just like all those other times. You looked up at him, and he looked down at you. You placed your hand on his, and guided the knife into its sheath, intertwining your fingers.   
You pulled him out into view, and Rapunzel gasped slightly. He didn't say anything.   
"Varian?" She asked, and he brought his head up.   
"Princess," he said. You squeezed his hand, and his expression relaxed slightly.   
The four of you stood there, not quite sure what to say.   
"Well?" Cassandra said impatiently, "I believe we were promised an apology."  
Varian raised his eyebrows.   
"You were?" He questioned, and you elbowed him in the side.   
"Fine. Sorry," he said, and even though it wasn't said particularly nicely, there was no sarcasm in his voice.  
Rapunzel sighed, and walked forwards to him, looking up at his face.   
"You certainly grew didn't you?" She said, and Varian smirked.   
"That is what happens, princess," he joked, wariness still present in his eyes.  
"I'm sorry about the speech, Varian, I was just on edge," she apologised, and Varian raised his eyebrows.   
"Oh?" He asked. Rapunzel sighed.   
"Besides, it was my dad who wanted me to warn the kingdom," she admitted, and Varian smirked.   
"He can really hold a grudge can't he?" Rapunzel smiled, then looked at you.   
"Take care of this one, won't you? He tends to get himself into trouble" She asked, and you tilted your head.   
"Well, I can't pardon a known criminal, but what a shame it would be if he escaped right under our noses, with a hostage in tow."  
Varian's eyes flashed dangerously, and you smiled mischievously.   
"Such a shame," you agreed.  
You looked up at Varian. It wasn't like you to do something so compulsive, so dangerous, and you didn't even know him that well.   
There was just something that made you trust him.  
"Well, what a nice reunion this has been. See you in another ten years, Rapunzel," Varian said, sarcastically this time, but not maliciously. He held out his hand. Rapunzel smiled, and hugged him.   
"Be careful, Varian," she said, pulling away, and Varian saluted with two fingers.   
Rapunzel hugged you, and Cassandra waved. You looked at Varian, who was twirling a vial of purple liquid in his fingers.   
"Sayonara," he said, grabbing hold of your waist. He dropped the vial, and as it smashed, the room filled with purple smoke. You couldn't see anything.   
By then it was too late, and Varian leapt from the windowsill, you in tow.   
You landed in a role, Varian having let go of you mid-air, and got up and started to run.   
You looked over at your fellow escapee, who was finally smiling, and you grabbed his hand.   
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Sometimes life needed a little shake up.  
And what a shake up this would be.


	13. Chapter 13

The harsh, stone floor scraped against your heels as you brought them closer to you, your knees pressed against your chest in a desperate attempt to feel secure; safe. The air around you enclosed you, and you mentally clawed at your throat to stop yourself suffocating. Your head spun with your thoughts, with the pain, and your gripped your temples with your fingertips, feeling your nails stark and agonising against your cold skin.   
You opened your mouth in a scream and squeezed your eyes shut, rasping and pleading for any sound to come out. Blood poured from your wrists down your arm and onto the whiteness of your dress, staining it. Tears mixed with the red smeared across your face into a concoction of misery, and pain. You could feel where your skin had been ripped open, jagged and spontaneous, and you gasped against the echoes of your thoughts. The echoes of their voices.   
He doesn't care for you. No-one does. You're nothing but a filthy farmers daughter, only useful for decoration. Hell you can't even be that, just look at you. You're worthless.   
Fuck. Fuck. Your head spun and your eyes blurred as you reminisced on their comments. They were right, of course. They were right. Who would want you, the product of your mother's drunken endeavours; a disgrace to your village. Who would want you. Who would want you. Who would want-  
"(Y/N)?" A small voice said from the door, but you hardly acknowledged it. You brought your knees into your nose and felt the fabric warm with your blood, and tears.   
"Oh my.. oh my god," The person said again, and you looked up, tears streaming from your eyes as you watched the tears start to pour from his.   
He doesn't care for you. You're worthless.  
You felt yourself slip away.   
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
You stirred and wriggled slightly, unable to move. You breathed in shakily against the comforting warmth of the blankets, and blinked away the woollen arms that grasped at your eyelids, entwining themselves with your eyelashes, which were stiff with the memory of your tears. Your went rigid with the memory, and relaxed your eyes into a disimpassioned expression, letting all emotion drain from you. Your wrists ached, but the pain was more like a distant memory than a recent occurrence. You brought your arms out from the blankets and turned them over. They were freshly bandaged, the red only just beginning to bleed through the material. You raised one of your hands to your head and touched it slightly with your fingertips, pulling away to reveal no sign that there was ever blood on your face. You frowned at that slightly.   
The door opened.   
"You're awake," someone said both in surprise and relief. You squinted your eyes and looked around you. The room was grey, stone most likely, and you could feel the coolness of the air around you. It must be bloody freezing. Your blankets ruffled as someone brushed past them, sitting next to you. You continued to look around the room, and when that was done, you looked down at your wrists in sorrow; not quite sure what to do.   
"Hey, (Y/N), are you okay?" They asked, before hitting themselves in the head.  
"Of course she's not all right, you idiot," they rambled to themselves. You sniffed as you listened to them, paying more attention. You look up at them out of the folds of your fabric.   
"Varian," you say, with no particular avail, since your voice had decided to disappear. A series of incoherent noises came from the back of your throat, but it was enough to get his attention.   
"Hey," he said in a small voice. You looked up at him, your vision clearing.  
His face cheeks were stained with tears and his eyes were puffy, and bagged. His hair was a scraggly mess and his goggles sat lopsided on his head. His shirt was untucked and lengthy, reaching to his knees. His eyes were starkly blue, and they swum with the ghosts of tears.   
"Hey," you replied, your voice hoarse.   
"Are yo-"  
"I don't know," you answered, your voice catching in your throat. You quickly looked back down. He placed his arm on yours, careful not to touch your bandages.   
"Do you want to talk about it?" He asked softly, his voice strong, yet shaking as he pronounced his words carefully.   
You looked down further, and he squeezed your arm slightly.   
"There were these... these people... they were saying things... they weren't nice, Var, they weren't nice," you said, lowering your head completely into your arms. He shifted closer to you and put his arm around your shoulders. He placed his lips on your head and spoke into your hair.   
"What kind of things?" He asked quietly. It was almost rhetorical, like he wasn't expecting a response from you.   
You shook your head and buried your head into his shoulder, your nose nuzzling the crook of his neck.   
He tightened his arm around you.   
"It's okay," he confirmed.   
"It's going to be okay."  
-  
-  
-  
And you could almost believe him.


	14. Chapter 14

You laid on your bed, the softness of the fabric ruffling up around your head, the wisps of cloth waving faintly in front of your vision as you stared at the ticking clock. Its hands were mesmerising, the way that they just... moved. How they moved in time, so rhythmically. One... two... three... four. Then back to one. The hands moved with such ease, and it was hard for you to believe that they were only doing so on account of the many gears interlocked inside the clock's body. And here you were, a complex creature with millions of years of evolution, many muscles and bones and tendons that all worked together to allow you to move in so many different ways.   
And you couldn't even learn the stupid dance.   
You groaned, the back of your hand flapping to your forehead in defeat, your eyes closing and your head spinning from the ticking. Your legs crossed over one another and your feet waved towards the floor, stretching out your aching muscles.  
You had been practicing for three hours, and for a third of those your best friend had been watching you intently, with a mix of humour and exasperation on his face, and concern when you tripped, the many many times that you did. In fact, he was laughing at you right now.   
"Varian, will you shut up I'm trying to focus on how horrid I am," you complained, rocking your head over to the wall, which he was leant up against. His hand was across his mouth, trying to sustain his giggles. His bangs were hanging loose over his forehead, the circular lenses of his goggles facing you.  
"Sorry, I-," he was interrupted by his giggles, and he waved his hand in dismissal of his own outburst, "I-I'm sorry, it's just you keep rushing through it. If you were just patient-"   
"If I was really meant to do this dance tonight, it would just come naturally. I guess it's just not meant to be," you said, shaking your head suddenly for dramatic effect.   
"You know that's a load of bull," he said, and a sudden pressure below you suggested he had sat on the bed. You looked over at him, "besides, why are you doing this dance anyways?"  
"Rapunzel," you confirmed, and grunted as you pulled yourself up.  
"Ah," he said in understanding.  
"Yeah, she said that since it's the commoners ball, that she shouldn't open the ball with a royal. Hence, no Eugene."  
Varian looked at you, contemplating.   
"And Cassandra..."  
"Is being Cassandra, and like Cassandra, she refused," you laughed, and Varian joined you.   
"What about..."  
"Lance?" You said. Varian nodded.   
"Lance has two left feet," you said, and he looked at you in defeat.  
"Guess you have to learn the dance then," he shrugged, and you sighed. However, that sigh turned into surprise when he grabbed you by the arm, and headed you off the bed.   
"What are we doing?" You asked. Varian raised his eyebrows at you.   
"What does it look like we're doing?" He said.   
"Well, it looks like we're dancing, Var," you answered as he took your waist.   
"Bingo," he confirmed, and you wrapped your arms around his shoulders. He started to move his legs, and instinctively you looked down at your feet.   
"No," he said softly, and you looked up at him.   
"Don't focus on that, just let it come naturally, as you think it should," he said, and you shook your head down at the ground, laughing slightly.  
"I'm serious," he said, and you looked up at him with a smile on your face.   
"Okay then," you laughed, and Varian started to move again.   
And he was right.   
It did come naturally.   
You swayed together as your feet moved forward, then right, then backwards, then left, as you danced with Varian. You stared into his eyes, and occasionally he bit his lip as you stepped on his feet, but he never complained. You respected him for that. And, it seemed, that as you continued to move to the beat of the clock, that you began to press closer. Your arms slid further around his neck, and his hands pulled you closer into his torso. You were just so deep in conversation that you didn't seem to notice.   
Or.   
You simply didn't seem to care.   
You watched as his eyes lit up when he recalled some equation, and observed the redness of his cheeks as he described the way two chemicals reacted. It was... fascinating, the way the human body worked. How the mind sends signals down nerves, tracing the passageways of the body, to produce a blush, or a blink. How the mind could release chemicals like dopamine, endorphins, serotonin... the perfect concoction.   
A chemical reaction in your brain.  
The product?  
Love.  
Your eyes jumped from one freckle to the next as you spun with him, trying to focus on anywhere but his eyes. Direct eye contact... it was tricky. Too invasive, too personal. But as you grew closer and closer, prolonged eye contact didn't seem to scare you anymore.   
You looked up into his eyes, and he looked down into yours. His irises swum with little specks of green and yellow, like the ocean and its fish, its body of blue constantly interchanging. They carried an air of maturity; of knowing, but at the same time glittered with droplets of childlike innocence.   
You'd never noticed them before.  
At least not fully.   
You were so infatuated in them, you didn't notice when Varian leaned in.   
Your lips met, and immediately a wave of energy crashed over your body, a sense of euphoria that you had never dreamed of experiencing. Varian's fingers curled around your hips, pulling you in forcefully, a soft display of dominance. You wrapped your fingers into his hair, and fiddled with the straps of his goggles.  
And then you pulled away.   
And you stared at him, and he at you, in total silence.   
And then you started to laugh.   
You rested your head on his chest, underneath his chin, and laughed into his shirt. He smelled of cinnamon.   
"What's so funny," Varian asked, worry nipping at his voice. You looked up at him.   
"I never ever thought you'd have the guts," you joked, an edge of mockery present in your tone.   
"Well, I must have gained a lot more at some point," he teased back, and leaned in again, swerving to your cheek at the last second when someone knocked on the door.  
"It's Rapunzel!" Rapunzel chirped from the door, and Varian stared at your red face with your own.   
"Ready for that dance?" Varian said, and held his arm out for you. You raised your eyebrow at him.   
"I'm a commoner, I'm coming. You don't have to dance with Rapunzel all night do you?" He said, and you blushed slightly.   
You took his arm.   
Tonight would be a good night.


	15. Chapter 15

If someone were to tell you a couple of months ago that you would be a Triwizard Champion, you would have laughed in their face and gone on your merry way.   
But here you were, and it was reality.   
The best part?  
You didn't even sign up! You were just sat there, gorging yourself with pudding, when your name flew out of the ancient flames of the Cup.   
Oh, what a great year this would be.  
\----------------------------------------------------------  
"Look, (Y/N), you're a champion, so what? I know hundreds of guys and girls alike that would kill to take your place," your best friend Safi urged to your pitiful form, which was curled up on your four-poster bed.   
"Mmmm," You articulated, and brought your knees closer to your chest. Safi sighed, and plopped herself on the bed, her back to yours. She fiddled with your tie, stroking the streaks of (H/H/C) that curled around it.   
You turned around to her, sitting up in bed. Your hair was stuck up in multiple directions, and your their were faint bags under your eyes.   
"I'm three years younger than the other contestants, you would think they'd give me some sort of help, wouldn't you?" You complained, your hands moving as your passion skyrocketed. You opened your mouth to go off on a rant, but Safi held her hand in front of your face.  
"Say no more," she said vaguely, and you raised your eyebrows in response.  
"I heard someone saying that you would have to fight something in the first task," Safi added, and your eyes went large.   
"What?" You yelped, and she laughed at you.   
"Calm yourself, (Y/N), I know just the person you can go to for help!" Safi chirped, her eyes closed in silent victory. You groaned.   
"I swear if you say Varian, I'm gonna scream," you mumbled to yourself. Safi clicked her fingers.   
"Right you are, my fair lady," she trilled, grabbing your arm.   
Safi had an obsession with you and him, and honestly, it was kind of worrying. You didn't even know Varian that well, but you partnered up with him once on a potions assignment. Ever since then Safi had decided you were fated to be together.   
"Again, Safi?" You sighed, "besides, Varian's strong point is potions, so I don't kno-"  
"Yeah, but he's no slack at charms either, and he's pretty easy on the eyes too, if I do say so myself," Safi giggled, and you rolled your eyes.   
"If I go will you stop?" You pleaded. Safi's eyes widened and mischief sparkled in her irises. She engulfed you in a hug, then pulled you away forcefully, her hands on your shoulders. She wrinkled her nose as she glanced you up and down.   
"Brush your hair, get changed, meet me outside the potions lab in half an hour," Safi ordered, before bounding off your bed and leaving you to your bewilderment.   
You sighed.   
This was going to be a long day.   
\-----------------------------------------------  
You kicked your boots against the wall, and checked your watch, the gears ticking quietly behind the screen. You were outside the potions lab, and Safi had yet to arrive. 'If she isn't here in five minutes, I'm leaving' you told yourself, and stared back down at your watch.  
"(Y/N)!" Someone yelled from down the corridor, and you looked up to see Safi running as fast as her legs could carry her.   
"Sorry, sorry," she apologised, "Hermione's cat wouldn't leave me alone."   
You chuckled nervously. Safi looked you up and down.   
"You look great!" She smiled, and you glanced down at yourself. You were wearing jeans and a turtleneck, the sleeves rolled up to your forearms.   
"Yeah, right," you said doubtfully, and looked back up at Safi.   
"Why are we here anyways?" You asked her, and she rolled her eyes at you.   
"Varian spends most of his days off here, duh, how can you not know that?" She snorted, and you raised your eyebrow at her.  
"I don't stalk the guy," you reminded, and Safi put her hand on her chest in horror.   
"I don't stalk him, (Y/N), I'm thinking about you," she urged. You scoffed.   
"Let's get it over with, then," you sighed, and watched as Safi opened the door.  
"Anyone home?" Safi called to the large classroom, its dingy walls present with the overpowering scent of mildew, and burning. You looked over Safi's shoulder, and spotted Varian over in the far corner, his eyes covered with a pair of large, circular goggles.   
"Yoohoo!" Safi yelled, and Varian turned towards you, removing the lenses. He wore a light green shirt that was covered by a very tattered apron, and his hands were masked with thick gloves. His hair was messy, but that was a usual sight, and the one blue streak it had was visible even in the low lighting. His eyes were friendly, and his face was adorned with a sky of freckles, all of which added to his character in ways you couldn't describe. He smiled at you.   
"Hey, Saf, hey (Y/N)," he said, and you came out from behind Safi.   
"Hey," you waved, and Safi bounded over to him.   
"What are you doing?" She nosed, poking at a ladle that stuck out of the cauldron. Varian swatted her hand away.   
"I'm trying to make a sleeping draught that works on animals," Varian said, repositioning the ladle to where it was before, "Ruddiger hasn't been getting much shut eye lately."   
You stifled a laugh. Only Varian could bring in a racoon into school, and the piece de resistance? He had managed to convince all the teachers that it was actually a cat.   
You were so distracted by your thoughts, that you hardly noticed that Varian had asked you a question.   
"(Y/N)!" Safi hissed, gesturing towards the Slytherin. You flitted your eyes upwards.   
"Triwizard champion, huh?" Varian asked, his arms crossed over his chest, which was now bare of the apron. His gloves were off, and his goggles sat lopsided on his head.   
"I guess," you motioned, and Safi rolled her eyes.   
"Speaking of which, Varian, (Y/N) here needs some help with her charm work, we think she'll need it in her first challenge," Safi spoke, and you stared at her.   
"Why not go to Hermione, or Professor Flitwick, or literally anyone else," Varian asked, and you snorted. He had a point.   
"(Y/N) wanted to come to you," Safi declared, and you opened your mouth in objection, but she started to talk again.   
"Anyways, are you in?" She asked, and Varian blinked at her.   
"What, now?" He said, and Safi nodded quite violently, bobbing on her toes.   
"Uh, sure," he agreed, and Safi pumped her hand in victory.   
"Let's get started then," Safi clarified, clapping her hands together.   
\---------------------------------------------------------  
"Varian!" You yelled at the seemingly empty potions room. It had been a couple of months since the first challenge, and ever since you, him, and Safi had gotten quite close.   
You sighed.   
"VARIAN!" You yelled, and the boy rolled out of the supply cupboard on a ladder.   
"Yeah?" He yelled, stepping off the ladder.   
"I need help with my potions homework," you shouted back, and he walked over to you. You handed him your sheet of notes, which had the task scrawled onto it. His eyes scanned the writing.   
"Come on then," he said, and led you over to a table by the front of the classroom. You watched in awe as he rushed back and forth to the supply cupboard, an assortment of materials and vials in his arms. Soon, the desk was filled with an array of supplies, and Varian looked at you.   
"Umm," you said profoundly, and went to grab a cluster of mandrake root. Varian made a sort of strangled noise, and you laughed.   
"I'm no good at potions, you know that," You chuckled, "just help me!"  
Varian smiled and grabbed hold of your wrist gently, leading you over to a pile of mandrake leaves. You blushed wildly, and brought your face down so he couldn't see the band of red on your cheeks. In the last couple of months, you may have developed a small crush on Varian, but just a small one. Okay, maybe not so small.   
"Uh, (Y/N)," Varian started, his elbows on the table, his head level with yours. You looked at him.   
"Yeah?" You asked, holding back the fact that you were rather flustered with how close he was to you.   
"The Yule Ball's coming up, right?" He gulped, and your eyes widened. You settled them back down in mock obliviousness.   
"Yeah," you confirmed, and went back to ripping up the leaves for your concoction.   
"I was uhh, I was wondering ifyouwouldliketogowithme?" He asked quickly, and you blinked at him.   
"Again, but slower," you advised, and Varian took a breath.   
"Would you like to go to the ball with me?" He asked, and your breathing stopped. You looked up at him, and saw that he was blushing profusely.  
"Yeah, that'd be nice," you smiled, going back to your homework. You smirked at how blasé you were, but in reality, your heart was batting a million.   
However that didn't last for long, since Varian decided to kiss your cheek. You whipped round to him, and saw that he looked rather flustered.   
"Cool," you said.   
"Cool," he replied.   
You stood there for a moment, looking at each other, both of you lit up like Christmas lights.   
You grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him into you, closing the gap between your lips. Varian breathed in, before embracing the kiss, pressing against you. You wrapped your arms around his neck, deepening the kiss, the warmth of his lips giving you confidence. Varian's hands placed themselves on your waist and pulled you into him, one of his arms placing itself on the table for support. You hardly even noticed when the door opened.  
"Twenty points from Slytherin, and (H/H)," Snape rasped from the doorway, and you broke apart in surprise.   
"And a further ten points from (H/H) for thinking that making out is more important than completing the homework I set," he added, before swinging around and slamming the door.   
You stared up at Varian.   
"Oops," you giggled, and he leant in to kiss you, innocently grazing your lips.   
"It was worth it."


	16. Chapter 16

"All you have to do is act natural, (Y/N)," Varian convinced, as he stoked the fire.  
Varian and you had been planning a reconnaissance mission for months, aiming to gather information about Rapunzel and her friends. Only issue, the mission was to take place in a 'True Love Ball', where the couples of Corona came to show off themselves. Ugh. You were both fugitives, for crimes against the crown, so if you wanted information you'd have to do it quietly. Which meant going undercover as a couple. I mean, you were a couple, but that wasn't the point. You'd never been a couple in public.   
"How the hell am I going to do that?" You said, throwing your hands up in the air. Varian looked at you out of the corner of his eye, and sighed.   
"Just, hold my hand, and dance with me. It's not that big a deal," he shrugged, and went back to sticking his twig in the rising embers.   
"I guess," you agreed, curling your arms around your knees.   
A sudden thought struck you.   
"Varian?" You asked, and he raised his head.   
"What are we going to wear?" You laughed, gesturing down at your body, which was adorned with a muddy shirt and ripped trousers. He kissed your cheek.   
"Got it covered," he said vaguely, and continued to poke the fire. You wrinkled your nose.   
"I'm going to bed," you announced, getting up from the log. Varian looked over at you, his eyebrow raised in question.   
"It's rather early, isn't it?" He coaxed, and you shrugged.  
"Gotta prepare for tomorrow," you said, and started to walk off, but Varian grabbed your wrist.   
"You can fall asleep here, I'll move you later," he smiled, and you mirrored him.   
You sat down next to him and placed your head on his shoulder, closing your eyes in contentment as he wrapped his arm around your waist.  
You smiled as he kissed your head, and sighed as you drifted off into dreams.   
\---------------------------------------------------------  
"This is rather tight, isn't it?" You observed, holding up the dress in front of you. Varian walked over, taking it from your arms. He held it over your torso.   
"I don't think so, it looks like it'll fit," he said, and you took it from him. You still weren't completely sure, but he shooed you off.   
"Go, go, we only have an hour until the ball," he urged, and you rolled your eyes.   
"An hour is an awfully long time," you reminded, but Varian shook his head.   
"Not when you consider that we have to get to the ball as well," he reminded, and you widened your eyes.   
"Crap," you muttered and went off behind a tree.   
"No looking," you yelled, as you slipped off your shirt, leaving you shivering in your undergarments. You fiddled with the dress, its many folds confusing you, when you felt a strange sensation on your neck.   
"Varian," you giggled, and he wrapped his arms around your bare stomach. He nipped at your neck, and you turned around in his grip, looking up at his face.   
"An hour, remember?" You reminded, and he shrugged.   
"As you said, an hour is an awfully long time," he smiled, leaning in to you.   
You breathed in as he kissed you, rather forcefully, and rose your arms around his neck, fiddling with his hair. Varian bit your lip passionately, and you sighed slightly as he did so, making him tighten his grip on you.   
You pulled at the bottom of his shirt, but he moved your hand back up to his neck.   
"Let me help you," you whispered into his ear, as he started to nibble on your own, not objecting to your proposition. You brought your hands down to his waist, caressing his body as you did so, draping your fingers down into the small of his back.   
You gripped the fabric and pulled it over his head, leaning in to kiss him as his lips became available. You slipped your tongue in then pulled it out again, teasing him. You curved your back, leaning into every crevice of his torso, his bare chest against yours.  
Varian brought one of his hands up to your hair, and tangled his fingers into its locks. His other hand found its way rubbing up and down your back, tickling your bare skin.   
"I love you," you breathed into his lips, and Varian loosened his grip on you in surprise. You took that as an opportunity to jump onto his hips, wrapping your legs around his torso. Varian staggered, then balanced you, one of his arms underneath you to hold you up.   
"I love you too, (Y/N)," he whispered back, and broke away from the kiss. You stared at him, his tousled hair and blushed face matching your own. You leant against his forehead, kissing his nose lightly.   
"We should probably get ready," you said breathlessly, and Varian leant against a tree, your legs still wrapped around his hips.   
"Probably," he smirked, and began to kiss you again. You let him take the lead, his dominance making your heart ache, as you held his shoulders. It was innocent, or at least more innocent than before, but the softness of it made you melt. He pulled away and carefully place you down on the ground.   
"I'm going to go and get changed now," he said, picking his shirt up off the floor. You nodded, smiling at him, running your fingers through his hair.   
You picked up the dress, which was even more tangled from being dropped on the floor.   
"Huh," you said confused, and began the process again.  
This would take a while.

 

"Wow," Varian said in wonder, his mouth open slightly and his head subconsciously cocked to the side as he looked at you.   
You were adorned in a lengthy dress that flowed around your ankles, its purple hue shifting colours as the sun beat down upon it. You'd brushed your hair, so it was relatively presentable, and it hung in simple design.   
You were beautiful.   
"Stop gawking, Varian," you teased, walking over to him.   
Your boyfriend was dressed in a grey waistcoat and dress trousers, his boots shined of all the mud.   
You could see the faint imprint of a sheath underneath the cloth of his trousers, holding a knife inside. You had one as well, hidden in the folds of your dress's secret pocket. You could feel it lightly pressed against your leg.   
Varian held out his arm, smiling down at you with a look of pride and awe. You gladly took it, and grinned to yourself when it slipped around your waist. You looked up at the sky, seeing the moon already shining in the blackness, and sighed.   
"We're quite late, you know," you reminded Varian, and he shrugged.   
"We have plenty of time," he said, "the ball doesn't end until morning."  
Ugh. Trust Rapunzel and her unnecessarily long celebrations.   
-  
-  
-  
And so, you begun the journey to the castle, walking in pinched shoes and shivering in your thin dress.  
What a fun night this would be.   
\------------------------------------------  
"Names?" A very serious looking man said, his moustache twitching as he talked, his mouth invisible to the naked eye.   
"Lucius Storrand and Giselle Pond," Varian said, his arm still around your waist.   
The guard scanned the list, and you bit your bottom lip as time went on... and the guard still hadn't found your names. You gripped the your knife through the folds of your dress, your teeth gritted... that was until the guard moved aside.  
"Have a lovely evening, folks," he said, and you could scarcely hasten to believe that under the thick caterpillar that lay on his top lip; he was smiling. He tipped his hat at you as you passed through the grand gates, into the courtyard.   
-  
-  
-  
You and Varian slipped into the ballroom, which was filled to the brim with bustling couples, dressed to the max, talking in pairs. Varian looked down at you, a slightly worried look on his face.   
"That's a lot of people," he pointed out as his grip on you tightened. You rubbed his hand and held it by your side, so that they were both placed on your waist.   
"The sooner we get the information we need, the better," you reminded, "then we can leave."  
Varian smiled at you, his eyes soft, yet hard.  
"Should we split up?" You suggested. Varian bit his lip.   
"As much as I want to stay with you, we'd be less recognisable on our own. We've kind of been branded as a duo," he rationed, and you pulled away from him, kissing his cheek as you did.   
"Let's reconvene every hour," you said, pointing to the grandfather clock in the corner of the room, currently showing the time as 10 O'clock.   
Varian saluted you loosely, before slipping into the crowd, and you only had a second to yourself before the people engulfed you as well.   
-  
-  
You pushed past everyone and made your way to the snacks, since it was common knowledge that everyone with information hung out by the snacks.   
Or maybe you were just telling yourself that.  
You were very hungry.   
You positioned yourself by a particularly fragrant plate of cheese, your arms folded across your chest as scanning the crowd.   
Every once in a while you spotted Varian mingling with various people, or simply eavesdropping on others. And every once in a while he'd wave at you, and you wished from the bottom of your heart that you were with him.   
"Someone looks down in the dumps," a voice said from beside you. You jumped slightly, and turned to see... well your worst nightmare.   
"King Eugene, its an honour," you gushed, curtsying. He laughed to himself.   
"Never was one for formalities, just call me Eugene," he said, holding out his hand. You stared at it, your mind having a battle with itself.   
You shook it.   
"Woah ho ho, firm grip!" Eugene said, pulling away his hand, "You must be used to shaking people's hands."   
You shrugged at his comment, to which he responded by chuckling heartedly.   
"So, where's your other half then?" Eugene asked, and your heart stopped beating. Your eyes widened. Did he... did he know? No, he couldn't... or he shouldn't at least.   
"My... other half?" You asked, sounding confused.   
"You're at the couples ball! Where's your boyfriend? Or girlfriend, I don't judge," Eugene said, holding up his hands to proclaim innocence.   
"Oh... my boyfriend is talking to people," you said, pronouncing every word carefully as the excuse popped up in your mind. In the end though, it wasn't really much of an excuse.   
Eugene nodded, and went to walk away. No. You couldn't lose this opportunity.   
"What about your other half?" You yelled, rather forcefully as well. Eugene turned back to you.   
"Pardon?" He asked, in a fake French accent.   
"Queen Rapunzel, where is she? I just mean, it's no secret that she loves parties," You added hastily, trying to explain your outburst.   
"Oh, Blondie is... busy at the moment. Secret queen stuff, you know," Eugene said, bouncing back over to you. You pouted, looking upset.  
"It's just, I was really hoping to meet her in person," you sulked, looking up at Eugene with big (E/C) eyes. You knew Varian could never say no to them, so you figured you'd give it a try.   
"Well shucks, kid, don't give me that," Eugene said, his hand rubbing the back of his neck. You quivered your bottom lip.   
"Gah, fine, come on then," Eugene beckoned, and you tensed up.   
"Can I quickly get my boyfriend first?" You asked, sure Varian would want to come.   
Eugene smiled.   
"Sure," he said, and you ran off to find Varian.   
\-------------------------------  
"Var," you hissed into his ear, and the poor man almost jumped out of his skin.   
"Jeez, (Y/N), you nearly gave me a heart attack," he joked, and your eyes fluttered to the wine glass in his hand, which was filled with clear, fizzing liquid.   
"Varian, you haven't been drinking have you?" You said, and Varian shook his head.   
"It's sparkling water," he said, holding it out to you. You took a sip, and indeed, he was right.   
"Varian, I've been speaking to Eugene, he's about to take us to Rapunzel," you said, and Varian almost spit out his drink.   
"How did you wrangle that one?" He asked in amazement, and you shrugged.   
"Guess I just have talent," you teased, and Varian rolled his eyes.   
"Now, let's go," you said, and Varian's eyes twinkled with mischief. "What better place to get information than the beast herself?"   
\------------------------------------------------  
"So this is the lucky man, eh?" Eugene grinned, pulling Varian into a man hug. Varian immediately tensed up, and Eugene frowned, pulling away.   
"What's wrong?" He laughed, and Varian smiled wonkily.  
"Physical contact," you rushed, holding hands with your boyfriend to calm him down. Eugene laughed .   
"I feel sorry for you then," he said out of the corner of his mouth, and you smiled, squeezing Varian for support.   
"Well, off we go" Eugene shouted, clapping his hands together. He swung on his heel, and headed out into the crowd.   
"We better follow him, or we'll lose him," you rushed, and started to walk, but you were pulled back when Varian didn't move.   
"Var?" You asked, pulling his arm slightly, "Are you okay?"  
He shook his head, regaining himself.   
"Yeah I'm fine," he assured, walking up to you.   
"Now let's go meet Rapunzel."


	17. Chapter 17

\----Varian's POV----

 

"Ga-fuck!" I yelled, my hand aching from the sudden blow it had sustained. My rough and calloused skin was tainted red, a prominent lump appearing on the surface.   
I brought the side of my thumb to my mouth, sucking on the skin as I leant down to pick up the hammer I had dropped, cursing my clumsiness under my breath.   
That was until my complaining was interrupted by me banging my head on the desk.   
"Oh the sweet irony!" I yelled dramatically, one hand intertwined in my hair, the other hand throbbing still in between my lips.   
"Varian, are you okay?" A gruff voice yelled from upstairs, muffled and laced with mild concern.   
"Yeah, I just... dropped a book," I lied, looking around me at my seemingly clean floor, clean from mess, spare the occasional splatter of corrosive acid.   
"It was a... big book," I added, to consolidate my story. Silence.   
That means he bought it.   
I turned around, my head spinning slightly from my previous head wound from... uhh around fifty-three seconds ago. Fifty-four... fifty-five...  
You know if you stopped counting to yourself you'd get so much more done, Varian.   
My eyes widened at the memory, and I shook my head to rid the nostal-no. I don't get nostalgia. I am a scientist. My brain is a complex map of nerves and chemicals, and...   
Can we really equate love to a simple reaction in the brain?   
And I missed her.   
I missed her so goddamn much.   
I just couldn't get her out of my head, how her laugh brightened the room, how her eyes lit up like a magnesium exposed to fire.  
I couldn't focus.   
But she'd moved on, and I had to too.   
\-------------------------------------------------------  
\----(Y/N)'s POV----

"I hope he's okay," I sighed, wiping the tears from my puffy cheeks, holding my chicken on my lap. It had been two weeks since me and Varian had separated, and you hadn't seen each other at all since then.   
I felt vibrations on my chest as my chicken bounced, clucking slightly.   
"You're right, Ordelia, he's probably moved on," I laughed dryly, flinging my head up for dramatic intent. I stared at the ceiling, at the wooden planks that crossed over each other. They held each other up, supporting the other so that they didn't fall. Kind of like...  
Like me and Varian used to do.   
I groaned, flopping down on my bed.   
Why did breaking up have to be so hard.   
Why couldn't it be like... the ending of a contract.   
A handshake, a hug, and whoopdeedoo! Off you both go, neither left in a perpetual state of denial and depression for weeks.   
Well, I was at least.   
"(Y/N)!" Your mother called from downstairs. I sighed in defeat; my plans of wailing for hours would have to be postponed.   
"Coming!" I yelled, cheer edging its way into my voice, as I rolled my sad excuse for a body off the bed.   
Okay, okay maybe I was taking this whole break-up thing too far. But... I missed him.   
I really did.   
\----------------------------------------------------------  
\----Varian's POV----

"Son, I have a few chores to do," Dad grumbled, his legs swinging in long strides, which I had to jog alongside to keep up with him.   
"Can I come with you?" I asked, and Dad smiled downwards at his son.   
"You'd be bored Varian, I have a meeting with Ms. Flutterworth, and I know how much you hate her shop."  
Gah! He was right. Ms. Flutterworth was the owner of a small flower shop, and she was rather... airy fairy. She believed in chance, fate. You know... useless crap.   
Whenever I tried to counteract her nonsense with fact, she just rambled on in her strange ways, her eyes glazed over like she was about to go through rigor mortis.   
Fate has her ways, Varian, and it led me to you! You have to admit, while coincidence is interesting, that the idea of a soulmate is far more intriguing?   
I stopped in my tracks, my brain for once, empty.   
"Varian, son?" Dad stopped, staring down at me, not used to my silence. My breaths were slightly rigid, my face drawn to a pale halt, my eyes wide and empty, void spare for the tears that welled up in my eyes.   
"Varian," Dad said, his eyes large and his jaw soft as he stared down at me.   
"I'm fine," I lied, my lips stretched in an unconvincing smile, "I just remembered I have to go... do something."  
I rushed off, the echo of her voice still present in my mind.   
\--------------------------------------------------------------  
\----(Y/N)'s POV----

"I'm going out!" I yelled, my dress flying into my face as I jumped off the chair.  
My mother raised her eyebrow at me as she flipped the page of her book. She grunted slightly, flipping the page again. I was fairly sure it was for effect, since she had only done it a few moments ago, and your mother wasn't exactly the clever type.   
There isn't a 'clever type', (Y/N), intelligence is learned. Sure, some may find it harder to learn, but everyone has potential.  
I smiled softly at the memory of Varian, sharp needles nipping at the corners of my eyes as I embraced the soft nostalgia. No, no!  
I couldn't feel this way, it's wrong, and besides, Varian sure didn't.   
He made that very clear.  
It wasn't like he was spending so long on this as I was, so long spent pondering on the good old days.   
"Oh by the way, (Y/N), I think you should know that your boyfriend has been pacing past the window for about fifteen minutes," your mother said, blasé as she flipped the pages of her book.   
My head whipped around so fast it might have been Rapunzel's hair as she danced. My eyes widened as, sure as day, I saw Varian pacing past the glass, his hand placed in a contemplating pose on his lips, his eyes seemingly scouring the grass, which was flattened by the constant step of his boots.   
My eyes widened in both joy, and fear, and anger as my former boyfriend spotted me with my arms crossed. I let malice cross over my expression as I stormed off to my room, leaving his face blank and cute, no, not cute, not cute!  
I slammed my door and it rattled, the hinges barely holding on. I sat down on my bed, my arms still crossed, as I counted the approaching footsteps.  
13...14...15  
\-------------------------------------------  
\----3rd Person POV----

"Hi," a voice said from the door, not quite broken, but not quite prepubescent either. You looked up at his face, and saw the nerves chatter in his teeth.   
"What do you want?" you grumbled, turning away from him.   
"I just... wanted to say that I'm sorry for how I acted the other night," he said, fiddling with his thumbs.   
You scoffed, crossing your ankles in dismissal.   
"I just... didn't want to lose you," he blurted, and you widened your eyes.   
Then gritted your teeth.   
You spun around, knocking the sheets off your bed, your face dangerously close to Varian's.   
"Your sheet's are-"  
"I don't give a flying fuck about my sheets, Varian," you spat, sneering his name as you stepped closer to him. He stepped backwards.   
"You cared, really? Is that why you shouted at me, ridiculed me?" You shouted, jabbing your finger out as he backed up against the wall.   
"I didn't shout," Varian said quietly, "or at least I didn't mean too, and besides, you were shouting too."  
"Oh you didn't mean too, I'm sorry, guess all is forgiven!" You yelled, your nose grazing his chin. You felt his panicked breath on your forehead, and looked up deeply into his blue eyes, their hue sparkling with light and tears. You had imagined this moment for, well the entire two weeks you were apart, and had dreamed that you would fall back into his arms, like the ending of a fairy-tale.   
But looking at him now, well, you simply couldn't look at him. You loved him dearly, to the depths of your heart, but you couldn't face him right now.   
You took a deep breath.   
"Varian, look, I understand we had an argument, but I can't just ignore that all," you breathed, and you saw his eyes sadden.   
You stared up at them, and he smiled, leaning in to kiss your nose softly.  
"I'm sorry," he started, and you hung your head.   
"Varian, I'm not ready," you tried.   
"But I can wait," he interrupted, smiling sweetly.   
You stared up at him, stepping backwards to put some space between the two of you.  
"Muh'lady," Varian teases, saluting you. He stepped backwards through the doorway, disappearing from sight.   
You stared down at your feet, and fiddled with your thumbs. You wanted to hold him, to love him, desperately you wanted to be with him.  
But the best things come with time, and separation makes the heart grow stronger.   
This would be good for you, you were sure.   
It had to be.


	18. Chapter 18

You tapped your fingers, your mind absent as you sat rested against the edge of your desk, a mug of lukewarm coffee gracing your hand. Your lips were pursed into a straight line as you observed the windows of the interrogation room. Your partner had gone in first, deciding on the old 'good cop, bad cop' routine, which never worked.  
But what could you say, Rapunzel just didn't seem to have an intimidating bone in her body.  
You however... let's just say you knew how to get the information you needed.  
You set down your mug on the desk, seeing the paper brown and dampen under its touch. Oops. At least it wasn't your desk. Oh well. You'd deal with Eugene's strop later.  
You set your eyes upon the now open door, watching as Rapunzel exited the room, a smile plastered on her face, but a tired and irritated look in her eyes. She spotted you and ran over, almost knocking over several interns and an officer on her way. You rolled your eyes at her recklessness, and brought your body up off the desk, feeling it shake as the distribution of weight changed.  
"Hey, (Y/N), this guy is tough!" Rapunzel chirped, wiping a strand of her short, brown hair out of her emerald eyes. You smiled slightly at her relentless cheer, and tucked a wisp of fringe behind your ears.  
"He won't be after I'm done with him," you added coldly, intending to be slightly menacing, but Rapunzel just clapped you on the shoulder.  
"Good ol' (Y/N), I know you'll get the job done," she smiled, holding her thumb up in your face. You sighed as you placed your gaze on the open doors, seeing the faint outline of a pair of hands handcuffed to the table. They tapped, and fiddled, and blurred together. Wait... blurred? Huh.  
Maybe you should get your eyes checked.  
\-----------------------------------------------  
"So, Varian..." you said, swinging the chair around so you could lean against the back of it. You opened your legs wide and stared at him, eyes set and stone.  
He didn't falter.  
"What?" He asked sweetly, opening up his cuffed hands into a questioning stance. You narrowed your eyes, bringing them up and down his torso. He was maybe early-mid twenties, no older than that. He wore a leather jacket, under which was a simple grey shirt. His face was a soft tan, his lips chapped and slightly faded. His nose was curved so you could see the indentions of his nostrils, and splattered with a legion of freckles, which stretched across his cheeks.  
His eyes were a deep blue, and as you stared into them, they didn't move, or twitch from your glare. No, they just stayed, omnipresent and large, innocent and misleading. His hair was swept up over the top of his head in a careless fashion, a blue streak running through it, but from the few strands that had fallen into his face, you could see that it usually hung loose in front of his eyes. Perhaps he was anxious, and had played with his hair previous to coming here. Or perhaps he was trying to act suave and cool under pressure.  
Or maybe a mixture of the two.  
"Something wrong, detective?" He asked snarkily, and you snapped your eyes out of thought as you met his properly, focusing in on his face.  
"You tell me," you snapped, relaxing yourself in your seat, trying to draw him into a false sense of security, "security cameras show you giving a man a small bottle. Half an hour later, said man was found dead in his apartment."  
He raised his eyebrows and leaned in.  
"Interesting," he mused, intertwining his fingers, the chains clanging slightly. You breathed heavily through your nose.  
"So you admit you gave the man a bottle?" You asked, pushing a notepad and pen in front of him. He looked down at it, and smiled slyly, before slowly pushing it back.  
"Well, detective, I never said that, did I?" He mocked, wagging his finger at you; you clenching your fists underneath the table.  
"We have security footage, Varian, we know it's you," you spoke through gritted teeth, your hands clenching and unclenching restlessly.  
"I would like to see this 'footage'," Varian said, making air quotes as his hands sat bound on the table. He looked so relaxed, passive, and you were so aggressive.  
You wondered to yourself.  
If someone walked in now, who would they think was in charge?  
You shook the thought away, and opened your hands, feeling the crescent indentions in your palm sting.  
From your pocket, your brought out a photo. Grayscale, but nonetheless a photo. Nonetheless, it was evidence. Concrete, definite evide-  
"That's not me."  
You snapped your head up, looking at the man in front of you. He smiled smugly, pointing to the photograph.  
"That's not me," he repeated, and your mind raced.  
"What do you mean 'that's not you'?" You questioned, standing up off the chair.  
"Look properly. See the glint, on the hand? That's not from skin, that's from metal. The person you're looking for isn't me, as they have a fake hand," Varian said, and you snatched up the photo. He was correct, there was a sheen to the hand which couldn't possibly be from skin. You sat back down in defeat.  
"Well played," you congratulated, relaxing slightly in his company.  
"Can I go now?" He asked, and you nodded.  
You unlocked his handcuffs, and looked down at him.  
"If you have any information regarding the investigation, I urge you to call us," you said, smiling at him, hiding your disappointment. Well, back to the drawing board.  
"Actually, detective, I think I might have something for you," he added.  
You gestured towards the pad in front of him, and he took the pen, writing, his nose almost touching the paper.  
Suddenly, he got up and walked out the door, swinging it shut behind him.  
You eagerly grabbed the paper, and read the words, sighing as you did so.  
###-####-### Call me ;)  
"Hmph," you said, smiling as you sat on the table, pulling the sheet off the pad.  
Call him, eh?  
Maybe you would.

You plugged the numbers into your phone, absent-mindedly throwing bread to the pigeons of the park, and held it up to your ear, listening to the trill of the ringing tone.   
"Hello?" A voice answered, slightly muffled, and you let your breath out.   
"Hello Varian, it's (Y/N) from the police office," you said, and waiting anxiously for his response.   
"I wasn't expecting you to call back," he said quietly, and you laughed a little down the phone.   
"I'm not very good at this," Varian admitted, and you rolled your eyes.   
"That's okay," you assured, and bit your lip as you heard the inhale of breath.   
"You know that house on the corner by Corona pastries? The one with the thatched roof? Come over at 7 for dinner.. that is if you want to," He said, and promptly hung up.   
You smiled to yourself, kicking your legs out slightly, burying your face in your hands.   
You had a date.  
\----------------------------------------------------  
'I look stupid,' you thought to yourself as you fiddled with the collar of your shirt. What type of person turns up to a date in plaid (I do (Y/N), stop being so mean)? You knocked on the door, and stepped backwards, fiddling on the fabric's hem. You heard footsteps, and the door swung open to reveal Varian.   
He was dressed in a simple white shirt which wasn't tight, nor baggy, and fitted around his slim figure perfectly. His hair was, as you guessed, in his face, but this time he was wearing a large pair of reading glasses. He wore ripped jeans and a leather bracelet with a small potion charm hanging off it.   
"Hi," he said softly, and immediately your perception of him changed. He was no longer this badass rebel, but more like a... soft nerd.  
"Hi," you answered back, smiling up at his face. He was a fair amount taller than you, and even though your boots had a slight heel, you couldn't match him.   
He gestured to you, and laughed nervously, and the sound made your heart flutter slightly.   
"You look great," he said, and your face lit up 90 shades of red.   
"Thanks," you said timidly, which wasn't like you.   
Wow.  
You must really like this guy.   
He stepped aside and you walked into his house, which was decorated with all things Halloween.   
"Varian?" You said.  
"Yeah?" He asked, closing the door behind him.   
"It's June," you giggled, waving at the bats and pumpkins which filled the place.   
"I know, we're so close to Halloween, I'm so excited" he enthused, and you snorted. He sure did look cute when he was like this.   
"So, what's for dinner?" You asked, and jumped slightly when Varian rushed past you, clapping his hands.   
"Well, M'lady, we have..." he drumrolled on the worksurface, before opening the microwave.   
"Microwave meals!" He said, his voice faltering as he tried desperately to keep up morale.   
"Can't cook, huh?" You asked, and Varian hung his head, imitating shame.   
"It's one of my greatest weaknesses," he admitted, holding his hand to his heart as the other pulled the food out.   
Varian turned his back to you, facing the table top, working on the plastic that covered the scorching dinner. You sat down on his couch, facing a decent sized TV, and looked around you.   
"Woah-hoah!" You marvelled, "How did you afford this place?"  
Varian chuckled slightly, " I work in pharmaceuticals."  
"That explains it," you laughed, and scooched over as Varian sat down next to you, two plates in his hand.   
"Thank you very much," you said as he placed the dish on your lap, doing the same with his own.   
"Chiweese, nwice!" You complimented, your mouth stuffed with chicken. Varian laughed at you, placing a spoonful of his own food in his mouth.  
You stared at his face, at the soft yet sharp curve of his jawline, how it moved and shifted as he chewed. You observed the slight bulge of his upper arm, and even though it wasn't a beefy man's muscle, it still made you blush.   
He was cute; you couldn't mess this up.   
You'd have to take it slow.   
\---------------------------------------  
"Varian," you moaned, biting down on your lip as Varian nipped your neck, licking the forming bruise. He brought down his torso onto yours, intertwining his fingers into your hair, pulling out the band that bound your locks, letting them cascade down. Varian brought his lips across to your collarbone, placing soft yet sharp kisses along its prominence, before moving up to your lips.   
The softness of his kiss made you swoon, completely melting as he slipped his tongue around the inside of your cheek, the breath from his nose heavy on your skin. You yelped slightly as he bit down on your bottom lip, perhaps drawing blood, and responded by pulling at his trousers. Varian pulled away slightly, a string of saliva following, as he gazed into your eyes.   
You raised your eyebrows at him, flirtatious and mocking, and he read the message you were sending loud and clear.   
In one swift movement he picked you up in his arms, carrying you to the bedroom, filling the space with kisses.   
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
-  
You sat on the edge of the bed, Varian's shirt long and baggy on you, but doing it's job. You looked at him, at his soft figure lying there, and sighed. You were never one to believe in fate, but...  
You had to concede, this felt like heaven.   
You slowly raised yourself from the mattress, careful not to wake him, and made your way to the bathroom.   
It was pristine, spare for a few clothes hung over the bath. The sink was neat, with no deodorant or toothbrush in sight. Huh.  
Whilst that would normally be good, you kind of wanted some deodorant, or... something. For reasons.   
You reached upwards to the medicine cabinet and pulled the door open, and immediately about forty things fell out. You let the majority fall into the sink with a deafening clunk, but helplessly tried to catch the remainder as they did so. You cringed at the noise, and looked towards the bed, but Varian just rolled over. Thank God.   
You reached down to put some of the stuff away, when you saw something... curious.   
In front of you was a small bottle of green liquid. No labels, no nothing. It didn't look like mouthwash; it was opaque, and bubbling slightly.   
You swore you'd seen it before. Somewhere, you just-you couldn't remember-  
Holy shit  
"You shouldn't have done that, (Y/N)," a voice said from behind you, and suddenly you felt a sudden pain envelope your side. It was sudden, searing, blinding, and cold. Cold like the face of the person who stabbed you.   
"It was you," you gasped, your hands holding your bleeding waist, trying to stem the blood flow.   
Varian smirked, twirling the knife in his hand, a malicious gleam in his eyes. A smirk played on his lips; he looked... well, crazy.   
Your vision blurred, and your side clenched, extreme heat covering the wound.   
"I like you, I really do," he confirmed dropping the knife and kneeling down next to you, "but some things need to stay a secret."  
"But the metal hand, it wasn't you!" You strained, darkness beginning to filter over your eyes.   
Varian walked up to you, and placed a soft kiss on your lips.  
"The shine?" He whispered in your ear, his breath tickling your skin.   
"It was the bottle."  
You looked up at him as he pulled away, at his blue eyes that were once kind; once endearing.   
And then everything went black, and you fell to the floor, hand flopped out in a desperate attempt to reach the door; to leave the room that you would never leave.


	19. Chapter 19

"Is everyone okay?" A voice asked through hoarse coughs, smoke peeling across the floor as the room came back into vision.   
You coughed yourself, your chest heaving as you hunched over, clearing your lungs of the gas.   
You blinked away the tears which had formed in the corners of your eyes, and looked around the room. But what you saw... what you saw made your eyes dry instantly as you widened them rapidly.   
"Oh my God," you said under your breath, and Rapunzel looked at you, or at least, you thought it was Rapunzel. She was donned in a flowy white dress that seemed to disappear into mist as it billowed around her feet. Her hair was braided in its normal fashion, except for the fact that it too, was fading in and out at the bottom. Her face was paler than usual, and her freckles were of a blueish hue, like little droplets of rain on her skin. Her eyes were a paler green, but she didn't look sick. She looked... magical. More than usual.   
"Woah, Raps, you look weird," Cassandra said from the corner, except... it wasn't really Cass. Standing where the voice came from was Cassandra, except, she kinda looked... dead. Her eyes were visible through layers of bandages, and they were cold and white, the skin around them grey and peeling.   
"How so?" Rapunzel answered, turning round to Cass, before yelping and clasping her hand over her mouth.   
"Cass, oh Cass, what happened?" She fretted, and began to look around the room at everyone else, her eyes settling on you.  
"(Y/N), you look really pretty!" Rapunzel said softly, still shocked. You raised your eyebrows and turned to a mirror, which still had smoke reeling off it.   
You wore a green dress which looked to be embroidered with leaves, flaring and cutting just beneath the knee. Your hair hung over your shoulders, and there were flowers threaded into it. Your feet were bare, but they felt light and airy, like you weren't really standing on everything.   
"Get the book," you said authoritatively. You turned around as you watched Rapunzel walk - no float - over to the desk, where she picked up a large leather-bound book.   
"Oh no," she whispered, and everyone flicked their eyes to her direction.   
Eugene walked forward. He wore a large white coat, and a pair of goggles over his eyes. His hair was messy, which would have given him a heart attack if he knew.   
"What does it say?" He asked.  
\--Record Scratch--  
Okay, you should probably explain.   
See, Halloween was fast approaching the excitable kingdom of Corona, and everyone was abuzz about it. It was a running challenge to see who could get the best costume, and well... you were quite the competitor. So, you and the gang had thought that you could use magic to get the best costume.   
Stupid, right?  
Yeah, well you saw that now.   
-  
-  
-  
"Well... we may have actually be transformed into monsters..." Rapunzel mumbled, biting her bottom lip.   
"What!" You yelped. Rapunzel nodded, flipping the page to the book.   
"So it looks like I'm a wind nymph, and (Y/N) is a dryad. Cassandra is a mummy, and Eugene is a... mad scientist?" Rapunzel looked confused as she spoke.   
"Hey are you guys okay in there?" Stan shouted from outside the door.   
"Yeah, Stan," Rapunzel yelled, eyeing you all to stay quiet.   
"It's just... we've had reports from all over the kingdom that people are... well.. they're turning into monsters, your majesty," Stan gulped, and you all widened your eyes.  
"Monsters, you say?" Rapunzel squeaked as you all looked at each other; mortified.   
"We'll keep it in mind, thank you Stan," Cassandra yelled out. You listened to Stan's footsteps, heard as they disappeared down the corridor.  
Then a sudden thought hit you.  
"Gotta go," you said in passing, as you rushed out of the door.   
\---------------------------------------------------------  
"Varian?" You yelled, standing in the open doorway of Varian's lab.   
"(Y/N), is that you?" You heard him reply, his voice somewhat distant.   
"Are you okay?" You shouted, unsure.   
Silence.   
"No, not really. (Y/N), what the hell is going on?" He replied shakily.   
"Can you come here, please?" You asked, clattering audible as Varian presumably climbed down a ladder.  
He turned around the corner, and on first glance, everything was normal.   
On first glance, that is.   
"What's going on?" Varian repeated, the glint of his sharp canines present as he spoke. You fiddled your thumbs, and looked up into his eyes, which were glowing red.   
"We may have accidentally... done something," you mumbled, smiling slightly. There was something about him... he looked the same but something just seemed so different.   
Good different.   
Varian stepped closer, his head tilted down at you slightly. In response, you looked down, and Varian rebutted by placing his hand under your chin and softly pulling your gaze up to him. He was awfully close.   
"Something?" He questioned, and you could feel his breath on your skin. It made you shiver, and you shifted your eyes away from his.  
"We accidentally cast a spell and turned everyone into monsters," you whispered, and Varian placed his hand on your cheek.   
"What are yo-" Varian cut you off as he pressed his lips into yours, the warm embrace causing your knees to buckle. Varian pulled away, his face colourless, but you could imagine a blush would be there under normal circumstances.   
"Magic isn't real," he whispered into your ear, and walked off.   
"Fix this!" He yelled as he left, disappearing behind the columns of metal.  
You touched your lips softly, and smiled to yourself, and a couple of flowers grew out of the ground by your feet as you did so.   
You begun to run after Varian.  
Of course you were going to fix this, but you might as well enjoy it first.


	20. Chapter 20

"You said you were done with Heather?" Varian chastised, sitting up in his bed, the covers pooling around his bare chest. You turned back to him, buttoning your shirt hastily.  
You laughed dryly beneath your breath, though it wasn't directed at him. His eyes were wide, full of a frantic concern, and it made your heart melt.   
"Yeah, and it was a sweet fantasy," you mused, sitting back on the bed, your hand grasping your blazer. Varian looked at you questioningly, his eyebrows raised asking you to elaborate. You sighed and placed your hands on his, rubbing your thumb along his.   
"A world without Heather, a world where everyone is free!" You smiled to the ceiling, turning back to the boy whom you had shared everything with; your insecurities, your delights, your... your first time.   
Your sweet reminiscence ended, and reality slipped over like a snake covered in lube.   
"Now it's morning, and I have to go kiss her aerobicized ass," you spat, pulling your blazer angrily over your shoulders, shaking it to smooth any imperfections.   
Varian's face was unreadable, his eyes seemingly quizzical, his mouth pursed.   
"Let me come with!" He said, jumping up off the mattress - which you had probably broken, to be honest. You raised your eyebrows at his uncharacteristically cheery manner, trying to focus on his face as he pulled his shirt over his head.   
"Really?" You asked, half condescending; half surprised.   
"For backup," he clarified, walking over to you, his trench coat in hand. You had to say, originally, you were sceptical about the trench coat.   
But... it was growing on you.   
"Okay, thanks," you said, and his face lit up at your words. You bit your lip, before placing your hands on his chest, and putting your lips to his for a chaste moment, before pulling away.   
Boy did you enjoy seeing Mister Badass with a blush on his face.   
"By the way," you added, your back to him as you headed for his door.   
"You were my first."  
\----------------------------------------------------------  
"Well, I'm a 'No Rust Build-up' man, myself," Varian joked, holding a large container of bleach in his hand. You stared at him before laughing it off, placing your vision back to the mug in front of you.   
"Don't be a dick," you laughed, "that stuff will kill her."  
"Thus, ending her hangover. I say we go with Draino," Varian said again, his face slightly hardened, the joke still present but its intent... questionable. Was he joking?  
He held out a mug full of blue liquid, gloop bleeding up the sides as it shook in his grip.   
You stared at him, disbelief on your face.   
"Forget it," you said, and a smirk played on his lips.   
"Chicken!" He mocked, cradling the mug between both hands as he leered over you, his hair hanging in front of his eyes.   
"You're not funny," you said, half serious, as you stepped closer to him.   
You both stared into each others eyes for a moment, before Varian sighed.   
"Okay, I'm sorry," he apologised, and bit his lip, putting down the mug.   
When you didn't give one, he leant down, forcefully pushing his lips onto yours. You were surprised, to say the least. I mean, you knew he was forward, but not this forward. You smiled into the kiss, and felt yourself put the mug down on the table besides you, if only to be able to hold your boyfriend more. You breathed in, smelling a mixture of cigarette ash and old paper. You had to say, the combination worked.   
He pulled away, leaving you slightly breathless as you stared at him, love pounding in your chest. And for that one moment, everything was perfect.   
And then that moment ended.   
"Prairie Oyster, chop, chop!" A shrill voice demanded in the distance, and you felt yourself fill with dread. Varian raised his eyebrows at you, and you melted into yourself, not wanting to look away from his eyes, their deep blue hue intoxicating.   
You fiddled around next to you for a mug, your hand grasping onto what vaguely felt like a handle.  
You smiled at Varian, before turning to go face the she-devil.   
"(Y/N) you-" Varian started, and you turned around in question, innocence and naivety clear in your expression.   
"I what?" You questioned, the silence between you growing as Varian's face was still; unreadable again.   
He smiled.   
"Good luck."  
\---------------------------------------------  
"Why'd you have to meddle with McNamara? One more dead Heather's a good thing," Varian sneered, stepping closer to you, a sadistic bounce in his step.  
"She's my friend," you spat, trying to keep calm. It was one thing after another with Varian, always empty promises.   
"Okay, if she's such a good friend, why are we letting Duke live? The bitch who made McNamara want to die? Nothing ever changes-"  
"WE ARE OUT OF THE CHANGE BUSINESS!" You screamed, throwing your hands to your side as tears pricked at the corner of your eyes. Varian looked shocked slightly, but not as shocked as you would have hoped. In fact, your words barely fazed him.   
"Doesn't it bother you that Duke walks free, spreading the same old evil in the same old ways-" Varian argued, his eyes dangerously wide, and his pupils dangerously small.   
"You... you PROMISED!" You cried, desperation clawing at your throat, your head throbbing as you tried to reason with your b- no. As you tried to reason with the psychopath in front of you.   
You hated yourself for sobbing, you hated yourself for breaking. But he was the one that broke you.   
\--------------------------------------------------  
"I am damaged"  
"Far too damaged"  
"But you're not beyond repair"  
You stared at Varian, at the blood that was currently oozing out of his chest, at the unusually relaxed look on his face.   
"Stay around here, make things better"  
"Cause you beat me fair and square"  
You creased your eyebrows, the ticking of the bomb acting as a base for your thoughts, its monotonous screech pounding at the inside of your head, as you held the gun in your hand.   
"Please stand back now"  
He waved his hand.   
"Little further"  
"Don't know what this thing will do"  
Something in your brain clicked, like the barrel of a gun.   
"Hope you miss me, wish you'd kiss me"  
He looked at you, and you at him. You stared at the smile which would soon be a spirit, soon a ghost to fly around your memories.   
"Then you'd know I worship you"  
"I'd trade my life for yours"  
"Oh my God," you whispered under your breath, your eyes widening at the prospect that was about to unravel.   
"And once I disappear"  
"Clean up the mess down here"  
A tear found its way down Varian's cheek. His bangs hung low in front of his eyes, the blue streak that was so oddly coloured present to you as you stood far from him.   
"Our love is God"  
The bomb ticked.   
"Our love is God"  
You felt your heart clench, and your mind begin to really catch up to current events.  
"Our love is God"  
You stared at his face one last time, at his eyes.   
How'd you'd miss his eyes.   
"Our love is God"  
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"Say hi to God"


	21. Chapter 21

He was drowning. And he didnt know how to stop it.   
The murk was black and abysmal, its very matter suffocating to him. The floor was so near yet so far, out of his reach yet just beneath his touch. He could not see the ceiling, as it was not there, and smoke curled around what he imagined to be walls, although he couldn't see them.   
And he fell, and continued to fall. And no one came to save him.   
—————————————-  
"Oh Varian!" You sobbed, staring down at the unconscious body of your boyfriend in his bed, the sheets ruffled around his face, emotion void in his features.   
Tears ran down your face and stained your cheeks as your mind ran the rampant through possible futures. Many were less than satisfactory. Ones were Varian wouldn't wake up.   
"It's okay, (Y/N). He'll wake up. I mean.. he has to. It's Varian," Rapunzel comforted, through her own tears. It was a nice gesture, but since she too was crying you didn't hold much too her words.   
You delve into your mind, searching desperately for something to hold onto; something to make yourself feel better. You dove past the cortex's and the nerves, looking for something... anything.   
And then a figurative lightbulb illuminated the area above your head.   
"Rapunzel," you whispered, your voice hoarse and essentially unheard, but nevertheless, the blonde looked up from her feet.   
"Go to his lab. Check for a book called 'The Science behind Dreams'," you ordered, a little louder, your eyes determined and steely through the haze caused by your own sadness.   
Rapunzl looked confused no doubt, but hurried off quickly through the door, leaving you alone with Varian. You stepped forwards, sitting on the side of his bed. You reached forwards, brushing his bangs out of his closed eyes. His face was not cold nor hot, not sweaty nor dry. It was just nothingness. You desperately wished there was something, something that could convince you he as alive. All you had was the barely noticeable rise and fall of his chest. And even that... it wasn't enough.   
He looked dead.   
"Got it!" Rapunzel breathed, slightly out of breath. In her hands she held a large leather-bound book, golden calligraphy visible on the front, but unreadable from your position.   
You beckoned her with your hands, turning your eyes back to Varian. It landed in your lap with a soft thud, making you grunt.   
"Sorry," Rapunzel muttered as she sat down with you, both of you too invested in the task at hand to care too much.   
You flipped through the yellowed pages, curvy writing causin your vision to swim.   
"There!" Rapunzel shouted suddenly, causing you to nearly drop the book. In confusion, you looked down at the title in front of you, wrapped in gold just like the cover.   
'Into the Mind'  
"This could be it!" You laughed, giddy with your small success. It was silly, small, and it sure as hell might not work, but it was something.   
"We're coming to get you Varian," you whispered, eyes gleaming, "just you wait."  
——————————————  
Varian didnt want to leave, but he didnt want to stay either.   
The emptiness of his mind astonished him. Rows upon rows of hallways lined with unopened doors, the air thick yet thin and the general tone of the place depressing. It was fitting, dreadfully so, but that just made Varian feel worse.   
When he had pondered his existentiality in the past, he had always imagined his mind as the perfect escape, a palace of knowledge. Never, in his wildest dreams, would he have imagined it to be like this. Drab, dreary, and all around, dead.   
Varian gazed around himself, walking absent-mindlessly down yet another corridor. Although the hallway was mind-numbingly boring, it was better than the possibility of what lay behind one of the doors. Varian had a lot of inner monsters, and the last thing he wanted was to encounter one of them.   
Heck, he dealt with them enough in reality.   
A light suddenly pierced through the grey, a beacon through the darkness. Varian bit his lip and spun around, wary. Rightfully so, he thought, and nothing jumped out to ell him otherwise. However, he supposed, if something had jumped out, it would have made him even more... cautious. He wasn't scared, of course not. He was an alchemist!  
But... he had nothing. No vials, heck not even his apron. He was virtually naked of his defences. He couldn't exactly throw a punch.  
Against his better judgement, Varian walked forwards, the light source warming his heart, and clouding his mind.   
"That's it Varian, well done," a sweet voice crooned from somewhere, the sound all around him, echoing, yet right next to his ear.   
Varian's eyes went large. He... he knew that voice.   
"One more step, love" The voice purred, causing Varian's chest to plunge and warm. The feeling it gave him was indescribable, and yet it made so much sense at once.   
A rich laughter rung through the air, laughter belonging to a man, women and baby.   
It was heartnening, and the purity of it made him sad, made him nostalgic for something he never even knew he had.   
But he knew he needed more.   
——————————————-  
"Candles," you ordered, and some landed in your outstretched palm.   
You fiddled with the matches in your hand, their short body awkward and inconvenient.   
And they slipped from your grasp, just like Varian did.   
"Okay," you sighed, the set up finished. Candles were balanced on the headboard, finally lit, and petals and herbs scattered the floor.   
"Hypnos, Hypnos, hear my plea, to bring him back to reality, and if he insists to stay in mind, send us in to collect and find." You chanted, the candles burning brighter; the room darkening.   
You heard words, words by your mouth, but your brain and lips were not connected. Your eyes rolled back in your head, and a gasp told you that Rapunzel's had as well.   
Your mind clouded, and the image of Varian you so cherished disappeared, and you were cast into nothingness.


	22. Chapter 22

It's strange how Fate dictates our lives, whether her influence be small or large, righteous, or amoral, we go along with it. We question not her judgement, her ways, and instead deal with whatever wrongs she does us.   
Fate's influence clouds all, and covers us like a blanket. Whether said blanket is comforting or smothering us is to say, but we accept it nonetheless. Fate influences financial decisions, the fall of rain, even love and death.   
You hate fate. Fate, who controls you so, and pulls on your arms with strings of wire to do her bidding; she is despicable.   
You walked through the woods, the dried leaves crunching under your heel. Your dress billowed around your ankles, the hem catching the dirt, which stained the cloth. You couldn't care less.  
Out of the corner of your eye you spied a the blur of red, moving with your hands as they swung aimlessly by your side. You drew your eyes to the front, to the path, and stared until your eyes strained and watered tears of defiance.   
You may not be able to rebel against Fate. But you could sure as hell ignore her.   
Her and her stupid soulmates, her stupid string.   
You gritted your teeth, grinding them in anger as you stomped forward. Stupid soulmates. Stupid string.   
You kicked against the dirt, the stones making noise as they flew forward, the soil just bunching at your feet as you trudged onwards.   
Memories flitted through your mind. A loving face, a kind smile. He was perfect, everything you weren't, but you didn't envy him. Your darling brother Fierro. You were happy, living together in bliss, siblings against the world.  
That was, until he was slaughtered by pirates. Until you spied his neck slit, blood cascading and splattering from the hole, his face stuck in mortal terror. You watched as his body slumped over, as his murderer turned to face you. As...  
As the string lit up. As it flew, and attatched itself to the murderers finger. You remembered the look on both your faces, the look of horror as the scene unravelled before you, as you truly began to step out of your shock.   
You remembered how your eyes watered, how you fled from him. How you fled from your brothers body, and your supposed soulmate, to the woods.  
And there you had stayed.   
You wiped your cheeks, tears beginning to fall from the corners of your eyes. You scowled in defiance. You would not be crying today, you simply forbade it.   
Not today, not tomorrow. No point weeping for the past.   
Varian's Perspective   
Varian began again. The crying, the sobbing, the tears. They came, and came, and came, and he couldn't stop them. All he could think about was the blood. The sheer multitude of it. How it had come, and how it had not stopped. How it had flowed long after the life was gone in the man.   
He didn't want to. He had refused. But she had made him. She had said that she wouldn't keep funding his mission to free his father if he didnt. he had said he needed to be a true part of the team.   
Imbeciles.   
He would never be like them. All he cared about was freeing his father. Everyone else could die for all he cared.   
But the blood... and her face. My God her face. It was one of terror, like he was the monster. People had looked at him like that before, of course, but this time... this time it was by his 'soulmate'.   
Now, Varian was a man of science. 19 years of age and never smarter. He was never wrong. But... his dad used to tell him stories of how he met his mum. Of how she had rushed into him, and how the string had materialised, as if magic.  
Magic isnt real.   
Varian knew that.   
But something about the concept of 'The String' felt right to him. Something science can't explain, which was rare.   
And he had ruined it by slaughtering her brother right in front of her.   
Who knows? Maybe one day things would be better.   
—— 9 years later ——  
(Y/N)'s Perspective   
You sat on the chair, the hard seat causing your already aching back to worsen. The room was white, brick lines visible through the paint. It was paired with care, however, with the precision that one would expect from a doctor. Or, more accurately, one would hope.   
You could vaguely hear the chatter of the doctor to his patient through the door. You had to admit, he didn't sound scary. No, more... comforting.   
And then a child started to cry through the walls, and your curiousity got the better of you. You shifted your body - or as much as you could handle with your injured back - so that you were facing through the door, a glass front perfectly placed for your spying needs.   
Inside you could vaguely see a child crying, which was understandable, considering you were able to hear it. However, said child was not seated, but walking towards the door, which he then opened. His mother followed, giving you a wierd look, before exiting the building.   
The assistant came out the room.   
"(Y/N), (L/N)?" She called in a drawling voice, looking lazily around the room. You waved your hand to let her know you were there, before attempting to get up off the chair.   
After bearing the agony, you walked into the room, and sat down. But then, you saw something you hadn't seen in years.   
A red string materialised on your finger, flowing over to the doctor in the corner of the room. He turned, suprised, and neither of you said anything.   
"You," he breathed, but he didnt look worried. No, not worried, but there was a mix of guilt and caution on his face.   
You felt yourself start to shake,  and your eyes start to heat with the arrival of tears. Memories flew threw flew your mind, memories that you had hidden in the depths of your mind. Memories of blood, and murderers.   
Murderers and doctors, apparently.   
"I'm so, so sorry," he apologised, walking over to you.   
And then he gasped, and recoiled, his cheek reddening as you pulled your hand from his face.   
"How dare you," you whispered, dry anger seeping into your voice.   
"HOW DARE YOU!" You screamed, lurching forwards as a stab of pain engulfed your lower back. You gasped, tears spilling momentarily from your eyes, as you settled back into the seat.   
"Look, Miss, I know you hate me, and I can't possible hope to explain, but I really need to look at your back," the doctor said with seemingly general concern, as he walked back over.   
And you let him.   
"What's your name?" You asked, "I deserve to at least know your name."  
The doctor pursed his lips, his bangs falling in front of his face, almost representing his unravel before you. Up close his glasses were smeared, covering piercing blue eyes, sitting on a nose which was covered with a myriad of freckles. In different circumstances, you would be happy that he was your soulmate.   
"Varian," he whispered, and you swore you could see the string glow.   
"Varian," you repeated as he began to lift your shirt from the back, to have access to your injury.   
He pressed lightly, and you hunched over in pain.   
"I'm guessing that hurts then?" Varian asked, his lips almost curled into a smirk. Not malicious, though, you should add.   
"You think?" You retorted sarcastically, snorting.   
And then Varian laughed, and you couldn't actually believe that you were here. You had fantasised about seeing him, after all those years, seeing him and exacting your revenge. But, you just didnt have the means.   
You laughed along slightly, as much as your injury would allow, and smiled to yourself.  
Who knows? Maybe revenge would come one day. But for now, you just sat, and laughed, and enjoyed. You were angry, most definitely, but it wouldn't come. For some odd reason, you couldn't react.   
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And so Fate sat back, resting her hands on her hips, content with her work for the day.


	23. Chapter 23

"So, who will jump?" The man said, his black jacket billowing with the wind. His eyes squinted through his hardened expression, when to his surprise, no one walked forwards to jump to their death.  
"You there," he shouted, his voice carrying over the rooftops, "You jump first."  
The crowd turned their faces to you, and you gulped back bile at the face your instructor was facing. He brought a scarred finger to you, to emphasise his point.  
Your skin paled visibly, and all the blood rushed out of your body and pooled around your feet. You had been scared of heights ever since you were a babe, or so your mum had told you. There was no way you could-  
"I-I'll jump!" A voice said from the back of the crowd. The people turned, stunned and silenced, to a boy, his thin frame covered by blue clothes of high quality, his face unsure.   
"Will you now?" The instructor mocked, and the boy's lips curled, a new steely determination visible in his eyes.   
"Yes," he said, confidently, "unless you wanted to?"  
You could hear a pin drop; the silence was deafening. Eyes widened, and breaths caught as the instructor pursed his lips.   
"I have no problem with jumping," the instructor growled, "but you will jump first."

The boy walked up to the ledge, and simply leapt, and no screams were heard.   
And so the rest of you followed in close pursuit.   
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"Shut up, Lacy," you scoffed, shovelling food into your mouth. Your friend laughed; her blonde hair whipped around her face as she giggled and snorted. She had lost her white gown, as you had your grey outfit, and was now donned in all black, leather present in every garment.   
"No, (Y/N), I'm serious. He volunteered to jump so you wouldn't have to!" She squealed, grabbing your hands in excitement, like a 10 year old girl does, discussing ones crushes.   
"Yeah, right," you murmured, your eyes catching view of something far more curious than your friend's outbursts.   
The boy, whom had jumped first, was dining over a book, alone. His bangs hung solemn in his face and his plate was bare, spare for some bread and ham.   
You cocked your eyebrow. First jumper was no laughing matter, and would certainly popularise you before you even talked to anyone. Yet, there he sat, completely and utterly alone.   
It hadn't even occurred to you that Lacy had stopped her nattering. She nudged you, a smile but fond on her lips.   
"Go on, talk to him," she urged, and you opened your mouth in objection, but she silenced you with yet more words.   
"You don't have to go and stick your tongue down his throat, just talk," she pleaded, and you snorted.   
"You aren't exactly the most subtle are you?" You teased, stuffing more food in your mouth.   
"Candor," she shrugged, and pushed you over, so that you were squished up against the person next to you, who glared downwards through his heavy-lidded eyes. You recoiled, spread directly in the middle of the two, as to not be within shoving distance of Lacy.   
"Goooo," she moaned, and you mentally scorned yourself for allowing your first friend to be a Candor. Then you scorned yourself again for your negativity. What could you say, selflessness and kindness were traits that were engrained into your very being.   
"Fine," you huffed, standing up in a hurry; almost toppling over. Lacy stifled a laugh, and ushered you over to him. You rolled your eyes at her childishness, and walked over to the empty table.   
"Hey," you said, sitting down next to the stranger. He looked up at you through his hair, his eyes thinned from suspicion.   
He must have concluded you were okay however, as he returned his gaze to his book. You pouted slightly.  
"So, first jumper eh?" You said, making conversation. His eyes were still on his book, stubbornly so.   
"Must take guts," you said, urging him to talk as you felt your friend's eyes pierce through you from the other side of the hall.   
"I guess so," he said, quietly, and much softer than you remembered. But his eyes were still fixed on his book.   
You huffed. "What is it going to take to get you to talk to me?"   
You crossed your arms over your chest, raising your eyebrow, waiting for an answer.   
The boy looked up at you, and closed his book. He brushed his bangs out of his face, an odd streak of blue running through it - perhaps a reminiscence to his youth as Erudite. His eyes were similarly cobalt, bright and stark against the blackness of the walls, and the blackness of his hair. His face was a pale tan, not bright and warm, but cool like an autumn day - a personified breeze. Upon said breeze was a sprinkling of frost, individual flakes across his nose. His jawline was sharp and angular, but with his softer features he looked more studious than scary. His cheekbones were high, but not striking. Overall, he was certainly attractive, visually appealing to anyone who looked. This was shielded however, by his insistence to always have his nose in a book.   
The boy spoke, "What do you want to talk about?" He asked, breathing slowly. His voice was paced, not sporadic, and it held an air of a typhoon, like the calm before the storm. Like he could snap, or anger easily.   
"I just wanted to thank you for jumping earlier," you said, letting yourself be rid of any sarcasm.  
He raised his eyebrows.   
"You had to jump anyway, I helped nothing," he scoffed.   
"Let a girl think what she wants, dungbrain," you sighed, hoping he would take it as a joke, like you intended.   
"Dungbrain, nice," he complimented. It was false, of course, but for some reason it still made your heart flutter.   
You sat in silence for a moment, mulling over an idea in your head. You had said that you regretted having a Candor as your only friend.   
So why not an Erudite?  
"Hey, freckles? Wanna tell me your name? You asked, loud and clear so that he could hear you through his mop of hair.   
"Varian," he replied, looking at you with a look of interest.   
"I'm (Y/N), nice to meet you," you said, a little fast, but you doubted he noticed.   
You stuck your hand out, abruptly, almost hitting him in the chest. He crossed his eyes at your fingertips, but soon after grasped your hand firmly.   
"You too," he smiled.   
You bit your lip.   
"Hey, Varian, do you want to go somewhere?"  
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"Tattoo and Piercing Parlour," Varian read, eyes squinted as he craned his neck. He looked back at you, disapproval on his face.   
"Really?" He asked, condescendingly.   
You elbowed him.   
"Yes really," you assured, "I was never allowed piercings or tattoo's in Abnegation, and you are certainly too stuck up to get one on your own."  
Varian pursed his lips, clearly unsure of what was to come. And, considering he didnt know you to well, it was completely understandable.   
"Come ooonnnnn," you complained, drawing out the sounds like a child begging for a treat, "You're in Dauntless now! Take some risks!"  
Varian looked at you quizzically, clearly running through the options.   
"No tattoos," he ordered, and you shook his hand.   
"No tattoos," you agreed, entering the shop.   
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"Woah, look at this one!" You gazed in awe at a design printed on the wall.   
"I can't (Y/N)," Varian said, and you turned to him.   
"Oops, I forgot you were getting your ears pierced," you giggled, skipping over to him.   
"That's a very Abnegation-y walk," Varian teased, and you punched him lightly in the arm.   
"Sure is, Erudite," You retorted, pulling up a stool to sit next to him.   
You pulled a strand of hair away from his ear to spy two marks in the upper helix. Boy, you bet that would hurt.   
"Double helix. Brave," you marvelled, "though I would expect nothing less from our First Jumper."   
Varian stuck his tongue out at you, but quickly regained himself as the piercing artist came back over.   
She wore a sleeveless black top with a wolf on it, designed in a pattern of splattered paint. She was toned, due to the rigid training program Dauntless insisted on, and sported long, curly black hair that fell over her shoulders. Not in ringlets - no, ringlets would be too fancy. These were untamed, beastly curls, the type of curls that one would fight with a hairbrush for hours in the morn. Matched with a septum piercing, and shocking green eyes, she looked almost like a snake. Though, her eyes were kind, which you appreciated.   
Not many kind eyes around anymore.   
"Hey man, you ready?" She asked, grabbing a piercing gun from the stand beside her.   
You looked at Varian in a glance, and saw the rise of the same childlike fear he had sported on the rooftop.   
"Hey," you comforted, placing your arm on his, "You jumped off a roof. This is nothing."  
Varian looked uncertain.   
"Yeah, yeah, this is nothing. I'm fine, fine, totally - ARGH!"   
Tears flew from the corners of his eyes, and he grabbed your hand. The snake-lady moved away, with her hands out wide.   
"Tara!" She marvelled, grabbing a mirror from the side of her.  
Varian took it, his face red from pain, and stared at the side of his ear.   
"Huh," he said simply, before passing out.   
You and the snake-lady looked at each other.   
"Good luck with your boyfriend," she snickered, walking off, rather irresponsibly you may add.   
You opened your mouth to object, before looking back at Varian, whose hand was rested loosely on yours.   
Growing up Abnegation made you inherently want to help others, whether it be at your expense or not. Now you were Dauntless, you should learn to be selfish every once in a while.   
So no, miss snake-lady, Varian wasn't your boyfriend.   
But he sure as hell could be.


	24. Chapter 24

They ran down your face, the saltiness of them engrained into the small pores of your skin, your cheeks so used to the feeling that they burn in their absence.   
You curled your arms around your knees, the fabric of your skirts bunching and itching awkwardly. You sniffled, tightening your grip on your legs so that they may never escape. Escape and allow you to walk free. To do anything.   
You felt the remnants of the pain, that unfamiliar and sudden pain that resonated deep within you, the pain that he caused and left. You felt the stickiness of the blood on the inside of your thighs, and how they still ached.   
It hadn't ended. He had gone but... he was still here. It felt as if he were still inside you, the pain thrusting through your very being.   
Just as he had done.   
It was invasive, it was truly terrible, and it wouldn't stop.   
You still felt his hands on you, how he had brushed past you in the square, lured you with kind words and false intentions. You felt how they gripped your neck, tightly, holding you still and helpless to his whims. You felt how his tongue licked your neck, how his teeth had sunken into your flesh, the bruises they had left less permanent reminders of your degrading ordeal.   
You curled up closer, rolling onto your side to try to sink into the floor, to simply disintegrate into the harsh stone.   
\------------------- 10 Years Later -------------------  
"(Y/N), sweetheart, what's wrong?" Varian asked, rolling over in bed to face you.  
Your face was streaked with the memories of the past, the tears causing you to look red and purpled. Varian reached forwards, to touch your shoulder, but instinctively you shirked away. It was a man's touch, a man's touch that had seared you. You couldn't bear to be touched in this moment by another.  
"Nothing," you sniffled unconvincingly. He looked at you, a deep concern and passion in his eyes. You loved that he cared so, but the image of passion in your mind caused you to bring bile to your mouth. True, you had endured other acts of the same passion, positive and pleasurable to the both of you. But this time, all you could think of was that one, that one horrible time.   
"(Y/N) please, tell me what's wrong?" He begged, shuffling closer to you, but you moved away. He didn't know, you'd never told him. How could you?  
"No-nothing's wrong Varian," you cried, "go back to sleep."  
You felt his hand vaguely on you, and you turned to him.   
"Please," he repeated, his plea heard.   
You sighed inwards, causing a sob to catch in your throat.   
"Te-ten years ago, I was cornered by-b-by a man," you sobbed, the words itching to come out, but struggling nonetheless, "he t-t-touched me and..." You couldn't finish.   
But Varian understood.   
He moved his hand to your face, slowly, and looked at you in the eyes for any signs of resistance. When his hand touched you, you gasped, but it was not of fear. The warmth in his fingertips was familiar, and comforting.   
You closed your eyes against his touch and breathed, hoarsely, as his arms wrapped around you, pulling you into his chest.   
"He can't hurt you now," Varian whispered into your ear, his breath causing you to shiver.  
You curled into him, as you had done so many times before, as the pain of the past disappeared from you.   
"I know," you agreed, letting yourself relax, and calm, and eventually drift into sleep.


	25. Chapter 25

"Well, well, well," he drawled, every word spoken digging into you like a dagger. He spun, the metal heel of his boots clacking on the floor as he spun his web, yourself lost in it.   
He leant down to you, his face millimetres from yours, your noses barely apart. And yet all you felt was his animosity, his anger.   
His piercing eyes searched yours, feeling barren in his iris. Cold, calculating, almost cruel.   
"What do we have here?" he purred, bringing the back of his hand up to your cheek. You turned your head as much as you could, since you were bound tightly on the deck, privy to the eyes of everyone aboard.   
You couldn't speak; you wouldn't speak. Even as he slowly pulled the cloth out of your mouth with the tip of his knife, your lips remained pursed and shut. Your eyes stung from the gale that blew over the sea, and watered from the sickness you felt from the heavy rocking of the ship, as the waves crashed over her body.   
"Curiosity killed the cat, you know," the Captain smirked, finally dropping the wretched cloth from his weapon, leaving you red from anger; worry. He turned, back to you, the distinct sound of whispers heard vaguely over the spit of the ocean.   
You tugged at the rope that tied your hands, but alas they were so tightly strung it led nowhere.   
All you had wanted was to know. To see for yourself the dreaded alchemist of Corona, the very man feared far and wide. You had never thought, never dreamt that you would be captured like this.   
You were so lost in your thoughts, you hardly even noticed when he - Varian - turned back to you.   
He walked over, slow and dramatic, and knelt down in front of you once more.   
"Curiosity killed the cat, yes... but satisfaction brought it back," he chuckled, leaning closer to you.  
"What is your name?" He whispered, his breath on your ear, and his voice uncharacteristically level.   
You trembled, your lips unable to form the word. Varian brought his ear to your mouth, close, but again not touching, allowing for you to pronounce yourself.   
And you did.   
Varian spun suddenly, arms wide and his persona undertaken once more.   
"This," he announced, clapping a hand on your shivering shoulder, "is (Y/N). She's going to be joining us for a while."  
There was a pause of silence amongst the pirates, maybe from astonishment, or perhaps from brainlessness. Some of them did look rather gormless, you had to say.   
And then whooping. And applause. And whistles.   
Happiness.  
Varian eyed you from the side, but it wasn't malicious. No, his eyes regained what you suspected was a former inquisitiveness. Who knows?  
Maybe curiosity wouldn't always kill the cat.   
————— 2 years later —————

"Captain!" Someone shouted, their gruff voice echoing through Varian's bedchambers. You heard him groan at his desk, flopping onto the wooden surface, bangs pooling around his head.   
"Duty calls," you mocked, throwing him his goggles. He caught them, surprisingly, and set them down beside him.   
"If I had known how much socialisation was involved with piracy, I wouldn't have become one," Varian huffed, picking himself up from the chair. You rolled your eyes.   
"Yeah, well, hop to it," you said, no trace of sympathy to be found.   
You suddenly felt two hands grasp at your waist.   
You looked up at Varian, his eyes sparkling and his mouth stretched into a small smile, sincere and sweet.   
"Help me?" He asked.  
You crossed your arms.   
"Beg," you ordered, a smirk playing on your lips. Varian looked taken aback, but regained himself quickly, turning around towards the door.   
"Maybe next time, (Y/N)," he chuckled, and walked into the chaos.   
You smiled to yourself. You had been playing this game of seduction for close to two years, ever since you agreed to stay onboard, and join their crew. Both of you flirted, but neither went further than a peck on the cheek. You had heard rumours that Varian had entertained various other women in this period, and a few men, but you couldn't believe it. Look past his manipulative nature, hard glare and murderous intent, Varian really was the biggest dork you had ever met.   
Besides, even if he did, you weren't together. He had no obligation to you. What more was to be expected of a pirate?   
"(Y/N)!" The same voice shouted. You sighed, breaking your thoughts away from Varian's soft smile, and placing them back on the task at hand. The raid, yes.   
The raid was today.   
——————————————————  
"Today is a big day, ladies and gentlemen," Varian shouted, the crew listening on edge to his words. You had to smirk; they took every word of his as gospel. If they knew what you knew, if they knew that this dramatic showman was really just that, a show, then you were sure they wouldn't be teetering on the edge of their metaphorical seats.   
"The day we finally head back to Corona, after two long years, to finish our deed. And believe me, when I say that they. Will. Pay!"  
The crew cheered and screamed for their captain, and you had to admit, he was rather impressive. He definitely knew how to work a crowd.   
"But firstly, I have an announcement to make," Varian said, softly.   
He looked to you, and held his hand out. You raised your eyebrows at him, and he beckoned you even more, waiting in front of those that looked up to him like a god. You couldn't let him down.   
You walked up to him, disregarding his hand and playfully bashing into his shoulder.   
Varian turned to you, and stared into your eyes with the same familiar flirtatiousness you saw every time you were alone. But this time, something else glinted behind it.   
Love.  
Suddenly, Varian dropped to one knee, a small velvet box in his hand. You would like to say that you remained poised, but in all honesty, your mouth was agape.   
"(Y/N), (L/N), will you do me the honour, of becoming my wife?" Varian said, and you couldn't believe it. You simply couldn't process it.   
"I- what?" You laughed, sure this was a joke.   
"I've always liked you, ever since I first met you," Varian whispered barely loud enough for you to hear, "and given that we may die today, I want you to be mine."  
You closed your mouth, and swallowed hard.   
"Yes," you said, bluntly, and simply.  
Your eyes began to water, and it really set in as Varian slid the ring onto your finger.   
You looked up at him, smiling wildly, and closed the gap between the two of you once and for all.   
Curiosity may have brought you here, but satisfaction made you stay.


	26. Chapter 26

"I can't do this!" Varian huffed, his 6 year old arms far to short to properly use an adult bow. You watched from behind a pillar at the small black-haired boy and his father - or who you assumed to be his father - practicing archery on a straw puppet.   
"You can do anything you put your mind to, Varian. I will not have any son of mine without his defences. Now SHOOT!" His father shouted, the force of his command causing his young son to wobble, and loose an arrow. An arrow that was aimed right for you.   
You squeaked, jumping back behind the pillar. You felt the pillar shake as the arrow lodged itself in its stone, and heard the scorning that the boy Varian was receiving from his father. You clenched your fists, and tiny as they were, the message was the same. You hated bullies.   
"That's not very nice," you shouted, stepping out from your hiding spot. The two males turned, both with a surprised expression on their faces.   
"Hi," the boy Varian whispered, waving his hand in a coy manner. You looked at him, nodded and placed your hands on your hips. Whenever Cassandra told you off, that's what she did. So that's what you did.   
"Who are you?" The man boomed, and his voice caused your stature to tremble. But you stood your ground.   
You pointed at the bow.   
"It's too big. He couldn't use it even if he wanted to," you lectured, walking closer to them. You were taller than the boy by a fair amount, but you guessed you were around the same age.   
Varian's father turned to the bow, and his thick brow creased in realisation.   
"Ah," he said simply, and you could see Varian's shoulders relax slightly. You smiled to yourself.   
"Thank you," Varian's father said, before gripping his sons arm, and the bow. You waved to Varian as he walked away, and the grin you received in response was enough to send you back the castle happy and bouncing.   
—————————————————————  
"Come on," you teased, waving to your friend at the bottom of the hill. Varian's face was contorted into a tired, fed up, yet almost happy expression as he began the trek up to you.   
"Not all of us spend our days walking and running," Varian complained as he ascended the steep climb. You stuck your tongue out as he appeared over the ridge.   
"It's because you don't have any muscles," you giggled, and Varian feigned insult.   
"I do too," he rebutted, sitting down next to you, "I just don't have leg muscles."  
You rolled your eyes, an inkling of your hormonal attitude, and Varian laughed. You had been great friends now, for four years, and at ten years of age neither of you could be happier.   
"Hey (Y/N)?" Varian asked, and you hummed in response.   
"Do you think we'll be together forever?"  
You turned to him, almost blinded by the sparkle in his eye as he stared to the stars.   
"Best friends forever," you promised.   
Varian chuckled.   
"Good."  
————————————————————————————  
"You. Can. Do. This," you said as Varian notched an arrow in his bow. He was wobbly still, but his arms had lengthened.  
"Not all of us are training as the Royal Archer, (Y/N)," Varian grumbled, and you sighed.   
"Look, you're doing it all wrong," you giggled, walking up behind him and placing your hands on his. It wasn't suggestive - you were 12 for goodness sakes - but it was enough for Varian's cheeks to redden. But, being behind, you were none the wiser.  
"Hold the bow like this," you demonstrated, showing him your fingers. He nodded, steely determination on his face.   
He pulled back, and...  
"Not bad!" You whistled, seeing the arrow lodged on the white of the target, "You'd still get killed in battle but..."  
"Yeah yeah, laugh it up. I think I'll stick to alchemy thanks," Varian grumbled, settling himself down on the grass.   
You sat down with him.   
"How's your sister?" Varian asked, and you sighed.   
"She's been dispatched to help in the search for the Lost Princess," you sighed, putting your arms around your knees. Varian looked at you, eyes wide.   
"Well, it's hardly a dangerous mission, I'm sure she'll be fine," Varian consoled, and you scoffed.   
"Yeah, but it's Cassandra, she'll find a way to make it dangerous."  
Varian turned away from you, letting silence engulf the two of you once more.   
Until he placed his hand on your shoulder.   
"She'll be okay," he said, and you smiled, the wetness in your eyes drying immediately.   
"I know."  
————————————————————  
"Varian?" You called, walking through the stone hallway of his lab. It was quiet, spare for a faint sound that you couldn't quite identify. Probably just the whir of the machines. You clutched your scarf, the cold bitter and long as it stretched through the walls. The unusual snow outside had hit unexpectedly, and fast, and you were stuck. So you came to the closest place you called home.   
"Var, seriously," you yawned, tired of his antics. He always hid, always jumped out. It wasn't funny anymore.   
Nothing.  
You came to the door of his lab, ominous amber light piercing through the gaps in the rock. This was normal, though, so you didn't think much of it.   
You opened the door, and immediately dropped your bow.   
"Varian," you sniffed. He wasn't moving. He was curled, awkwardly, at the base of a large amber statue. And at the centre...   
"Varian, please be okay," you sobbed, shaking your friends shoulders. He wasn't moving. His skin was ice.   
His lips were tinted blue and his face was so translucent you swore you could see every nerve pass through it.   
Crying, you dragged him over your shoulders, and into your arms. He was light, almost weightless.   
You placed him on a blanket by the unlit fireplace. Please wake up, please wake up, please wake up.  
Your hands fumbled with the matches.   
God, Varian, please, please wake up.   
You lit the fire.   
Varian, please!  
He wasn't moving.  
Please, please....  
Your tears were stained to your face, the warmth drying them into itchy remnants of what they once were.   
Please, 

          Please,   
    
                        Please...

 

 

 

 

"(Y/N)?"  
You looked up, face sunken, at Varian, nearly dead, but very much still alive.   
"Varian," you breathed, engulfing him in a hug that you wished were to never end.   
"(Y/N)," he repeated, his lips trembling and teeth chattering too much.   
"Come closer to the fire," you said, pulling on his sleeve. Slowly, but surely, he shifted closer to you.   
You both stared at the fire, neither one of you addressing the elephant in the room.   
Until...  
"Varian, are you okay?" You asked, your eyes stuck to the dancing embers so much that you couldn't draw your gaze away to your friend.   
He didn't answer for a while.   
"I don't know," he said, his voice cracking as newly formed tears appeared in the shadow of the old ones.   
"What happened?" You asked quietly, and felt Varian shift closer to you. Very close to you.   
"Rapunzel," he growled, and the animosity in his voice took you off guard.   
"What?" You breathed, entranced, and scared.   
"She didn't help, no one, no one helped me," you cried, but no tears came. No, it was all dry, dry anger.   
You settled backwards.   
"What are you going to do?" You asked, and Varian's gaze softened at the prospect of the future.   
He didn't answer.   
"Well, whatever you decide, I'm here," you assured, and Varian turned to you. His large blue eyes gazed deeply into yours, and his face; oddly angelic even with tears of despair stained upon it.   
"You pr-" he stopped himself, his voice giving way as he shut his eyes tightly.   
"Promise," you said, and Varian looked at you, quizzically.   
"You know what (Y/N)?" Varian said, laughing, although you didn't understand why.  
"I think I actually believe you."


	27. Chapter 27

"Well, who would've thought that little (Y/N) would be the one to bust me out," Varian teased, a smirk tugging at his lips, his hands handcuffed yet relaxed on his laps.   
His raven hair was tangled into a hot mess, and his blue eyes were piercing, their once soft hue reduced to a sharp and icy tone. His feet were crossed at the ankles, which were bare and skinny. His apron and gloves had been stripped of him, leaving him in a ratty teal shirt, and a pair of thin trousers, which were ripped at the ends. His goggles sat slightly lopsided on his head, and the carelessness of it made your heart jump a little. Still, however, you retained your hardened and slightly flirtatious demeaner, with your arms crossed in a nonchalant pose over your chest.      
"Laugh all you want, freckles, but I suggest you make it quick. The guards won't stay asleep for long," you retorted, your arms repositioning themselves and settling down in the same place.   
Varian let out a short laugh, cold and harsh as it was, and stood up. He had grown in the years he had been in the cell, standing at a good five or so inches taller than you. His face was leaner and sharper, due to lack of food, which made him look older and more intimidating.   
He stood over you, his eyes looking down at yours. He was cute before, but here... now he looked hot. Your heart jumped into your throat, and you gulped it back, staring back at him.   
"The chains, Varian," you smiled, twirling the keys on your finger.   
His eyes darted over, his expression remaining blasé and infuriating. You had suspected that he would have hardened, you had suspected that he'd be different. But... this... he'd changed. He'd changed more than you knew, and part of you liked this part of him. Saying that, part of you hated it.   
He held out his arms, and you spotted red marks going up and down his arm. They weren't cuts, or burns, more like bruises, like fingers seared into his skin. You grabbed his wrist harshly and pulled them towards you, yanking Varian with them. He ended up closer than you'd have liked, but you couldn't push him away. You couldn't let him get the upper hand. So you fiddled with the lock, hyperaware of his eyes on you. After a moment or two the chains dropped to the floor, and you looked up, a compound smile of both a teasing and hard look on your face.   
"All finished," you said, your eyebrow raised.   
His eyes were on yours, his blue gaze on your (E/C) stare. Your eyes were wide, and his were relaxed, a smirk playing on his face, which was evident through his expression. He brought his eyes down to your lips slightly, before flicking his eyes up and walking over to the open cell door, rubbing his wrists.   
"After you, milady," he purred, your once soft and endearing nickname, now weaponised and suggestive. Again, you shook the warm feeling from your chest, and pushed past him into the stone corridor of the castles prison.   
\------------------------------------------------  
"Run, damnit, run!" you yelled to your companion, yourself jumping over logs and weaving through trees. Incoherent shouts echoed from behind you as you sprinted away from the guards, your (H/C) billowing behind you as you sped through the forest. Varian was slightly behind you, himself weighed down by a bag full of stolen clothes that was slung over his shoulder. Still, light as he was, he was making decent pace against the guards.   
In the distance, you could see an upturned tree, its roots sticking up, acting as a wall. You grimaced and glanced behind you. The guards were definitely following you, but you couldn't see them, meaning they couldn't see you.   
"Hey freckles!" you shouted, to get his attention.   
His eyes snapped over to you. You pointed towards the tree roots, still running, and watched as he nodded, understanding your plan. Three... two... one...  
You both skidded sideways, in different directions, and reconvened behind the roots, their tall architecture leaning over you, and acting as a hiding place. Both your breaths were fast, your chests heaving from exhaustion. Varian brought the cloth bag behind him, and shuffled closer to you, his fingertips close to yours. You desperately wanted to reach out and grab his hand, but you hesitated. This wasn't your Varian. Your Varian was a clumsy and cute dork, not an oddly hot sociopath bent on vengeance. You pulled your hand back, noticeably, and Varian looked at you with an inquisitive look on his face. A look, that was soon replaced by worry, as the guards grew so loud that you could feel the vibration of their horses hooves through the ground. You closed your eyes. Their voices grew louder, until...  
"I can't hear them anymore Cap," a guard piped, and a woman swore.   
Wait, woman?   
Against your better judgement, you stuck your head around the side of the tree roots. What you saw made your blood run colder, and your mouth purse into a grimace. The captain of the guards was a thin lady in golden armour, short brown hair sticking out from under her helmet. She was so close that you could see her grey eyes, cold and determined, her white knuckles on her sword, and her feet digging in the stirrups of her horse. Gee, great, you thought. A guard with a personal vendetta against Varian, and now, you.   
Varian pulled you back, and looked at you with a look of alarm and question on his face. You pointed backwards and mouthed a name to him. He clenched his teeth, and a slightly scary expression took over his face. You recoiled slightly, her name still ghost on your lips. Cassandra.   
You wondered where the other captain of the guards went, her father, and hit yourself in realisation. Varian had injured him in the battle of Old Corona. Well, vicariously, since it had actually been his mutated racoon that had done the damage. Still, he authorised it. You made a personal note to hit Varian later.   
"Fidella doesn't sense anyone, maybe they turned back on themselves," Cassandra spoke authoritatively, talking to herself more than the guards.   
"But Cap, doesn't that seem like a risky move? You said that Varian was a smart guy, a genius even? Why would he do something so dangerous?" a different guard said, one that you recognised as one of the guards you had knocked out when Varian escaped. You cursed under your breath.   
"Let me remind you, Stan, that you were one of the ones that let a dangerous convict escape. I suggest you don't question my judgement. Besides, regrettably, I know Varian. Dangerous is just his style," she spat back, and you had a mental image of many, many explosions that had occurred by Varian's hand.   
Most of them being with good intention, however you dreaded to see what he could do with a full lab full of chemicals and vengeance on his mind. In fact, you had seen, and it had ended up with him in a jail cell.   
You could hear the hooves start up again, and both you and Varian listened as they retreated backwards. You stayed still for a good few minutes, until you could hardly hear the clatter of hooves anymore. Varian laughed bitterly, his bangs hanging in his face.   
"Cassandra. I should've known," he sneered, his hands fiddling and clenching themselves as he spoke. You raised your eyebrows.   
"Well, you did try to kill her. Now its personal," you reminded, observing his reaction. His eyes went wide, and he looked at you, desperate to counteract you. But, his shock faded fast, and he just huffed and looked back down. Your eyes went wide. He was about to say that he didn't try to kill her, he... he was about to argue. In those few seconds you saw your Varian, the Varian that would never try to hurt anyone. And, thank God, that meant your Varian was still in there, somewhere.   
You placed your hands on his arm and looked at him. 

"Why do you do that?" You questioned softly, your eyes smiling in comfort, like a mother would with a hurt child. His eyes went wide beneath his hair, but he didn't look at you. Instead, it seemed, he looked away.   
"Do what?" He answered, and you fumbled around your words in your mind, trying to come up with the perfect phrase that wouldn't upset him, that would get you your answer.   
"Why do you act like you don't care, like you only care about revenge?" You pushed harder, watching as he flinched slightly against the sting of your words. Oops. Guess you didn't think that one through enough.   
"I do only care about revenge," he retorted, his tired eyes matching yours, his face gaunt and emotionless. You held your breath, and let any sign of empathy drain from your expression.   
"What about me?" You croaked.   
Before he could answer, you got up, dusted off your moth-bitten dress, and turned on your heels.   
"Don't forget the bag," you said as an afterthought, and began to walk away. Before you could, though, a hand grasped yours and pulled you backwards. You spun quickly, your face landing in front of Varian's. You stared into his eyes, and recognised the spark of an emotion you hadn't long seen on his face. You saw passion. Before you stood your dork, your Varian.   
"I do care," he promised, his expression soft and pleading for your forgiveness. Again, his eyes fluttered down to your lips, longer this time, and a warm feeling rose in your chest. You looked up at him, and pushed that feeling deeper down.   
"Could've fooled me."

"I know a place about five miles off the border of Old Corona, we can stay there for the night," you said coldly, guilt rising in your chest as you turned away from Varian's hurt face.   
You.. you shouldn't feel guilty, he was the one that had been treating you like a toy from the moment you broke him free of his chains. You were just standing up for yourself, making sure you didn't get roped into his games again. You... you were right.  
Then why did you feel so wrong?  
"That's fine with me," Varian said, the painful look still throbbing on his face.  
He pulled his arm away, and used it to gesture forwards.   
"Lead the way."  
\----------------------------------------------------------  
You walked in silence, Varian carrying the heavy bag without complaint the whole journey. You looked down at your feet as you stopped by a river for a drink, kicking the rocks around and scooting the sand over your shoes.   
"(Y/N)," Varian asked, meekly, as if he were scared of you. No, wary is more the word. They were partners, nothing more. In crime. You couldn't get attached. And he knew that too.   
Varian's hand was outstretched and he flexed his fingers, bouncing his eyebrows in suggestion. You frowned at him, confused. He rolled his eyes.   
"Your flask, (Y/N), can I fill up your flask?" He said, annoyance nipping at his voice. You huffed.   
"I can do it myself, Varian," you snapped, and walked over to the river, leaning over it.   
You placed your flask in the water, and your hand immediately froze because of the temperature. Little needles pricked at your fingers as you gripped the flask tightly; the current was rather strong. You stayed there for a few moments, before looking over at Varian, who was also leant over the river. A smile came across your face, as you pondered your idea.   
You laid your flask carefully down beside you, so Varian wouldn't notice you were finished. You submerged both of your arms and looked to the side. He had no clue.   
Anarchy controlling you, you brought your arms back and sent a wave of water over Varian. You choked down the urge to laugh as you looked at your accomplice, soaked and staring at you, blinking the water out of his large eyes, a look of shock on his face.   
"Oops," you said innocently, twirling a strand of your hair around your finger.   
Varian blinked a few times more, before settling a mischievous grin upon his lips. He thrusted his hands into the water and pulled upwards, splashing you with more water than you sent at him. You knew so, because you fell backwards. You sat up, one hand behind you, one hand wiping your hair from your face. Varian burst into laughter, rolling backwards, his hand on his stomach, his eyes creased and his mouth wide in joy. You couldn't help but smile too.   
"This is war," you waged, and ran at Varian, who was still distracted by his victory.   
You opened the lid of your flask and brought it backwards, building momentum. Before he knew what was happening, you had thrust it forwards, the water flying out into his face and shirt, which stuck to him like rubber.   
"Oh why you-," he started, and began to undo his lid as well.   
You dodged when he pushed it forwards, but rolled to the side as you fell over his ankles, pulling him with you. You wiped your hair out of your eyes, and blinked rapidly as droplets of water fell off of Varian's hair, and into your eyes.   
Varian had fallen on top of you, his elbows and forearms resting on the ground, a look of surprise and embarrassment on his face.   
You started to giggle, and red crept into his cheeks, a coy smile appearing on his lips. He too started to laugh and he brought his head down as he did so, his bangs hanging over his eyes. When you both stopped, he looked up at you, a fond look on his face. You tilted your head to the side.   
"You better still have that bag of spare clothes," you stated, as you both started to laugh again.   
\--------------------------------------------------  
You walked over to the clothes and brought out a plain white shirt, the sleeves slightly billowy, the neckline in a V shape, but not revealing. No, just fashionable. You laughed when you held it up to Varian's torso as he stood in front of you.   
"Perfect," you joked, and threw it at him, along with a pair of pants.   
The hot sun had already started to dry their hair, so that it hung in wet waves instead of sticking to their faces. Varian pulled off his goggles and brushed his bangs back, revealing his forehead.   
"You know you should wear you hair like that more often," you noted, Varian looking up. He smiled.   
"Yeah, maybe."   
You searched through the bag and brought out a blue dress, frills enveloping it, a collar of white blooming out of the top. It was Varian's turn to laugh.   
"Nope. Absolutely not," you said matter-of-factly, throwing it aside.   
"I think it looked cute," Varian said, picking it up and holding it up to you like you did to him.   
You stuck out your tongue. It hardly even hit you how nice he was being. How easily you had both shifted from accomplices to... to friends. How easily he had shifted back into your Varian. You stuck your hand back into the bag, and brought out a shirt similar to the one you gave Varian, except unlike the one you gave to Varian, it was way too big for you.   
You rummaged through the bag and brought out a corset. You had to admit that it was beautifully crafted, blue and green, with strings of purple trying it up at the front. It looked like the type that show performers would wear, since it didn't look like it would do up tightly, and because the strings did up at the front. You threw it onto the floor with the rest of your stuff.  
"Turn around," you ordered to Varian, who blushed and whirled on his toes. As you changed you kept a close eye on him, but he was too busy fiddling with the buttons of his new shirt. He turned to you, and you giggled.  
"It looks fantastic, Varian," you teased, and he shot an awkward smile at you.  
"So do you," he said. You. He had said that you looked amazing, and at that realisation, you turned away blushing.   
"Come on then," you waved, beckoning him to you.   
"Where are we going?"  
"Wait and see"

You pulled back the branch to your cave, a pile of logs in your arms, which were obscuring your vision. You had one arm out, waving around to feel your surroundings. Suddenly, you banged into something. Guess that method didn't work out that well.   
"OW!" Varian exclaimed, rubbing his chest. He looked at you around the side of the logs, his bangs falling to one side. A lopsided smile appeared on his face.   
"Want a little help?" He asked. You nodded rapidly, your legs buckling beneath you. Varian walked forwards and took quite a few of the logs for himself. He huffed in surprise.  
"Jesus, (Y/N), how did you carry so many of these?" He asked in amazement, himself struggling to carry half.  
"Stronger than I look?" You shrugged, and he laughed. He beckoned you with one hand over to a large log, much larger than the ones you carried, and dumped his wood in front of it. You followed suit, joining him on the logs. Daylight was a precious luxury they wouldn't have soon, and they had yet to start a fire. Well.   
What better time to start than at the last minute?  
"Okay, do you have any chemicals that would start a fire?" You asked Varian, feeling dread at starting one manually. He looked at you.   
"Yeah let me just go into my apron- OH WAIT!" He said sarcastically, and you laughed. It felt good to laugh, and mean it. No guards in sight. A roof over your head. Just you and... Varian.   
——————————————  
With the fire started, there was stew cooking in a pot over the fire. You looked up at your friend (you were friends now, right?) and focused in on his face. He had taken your suggestion, and pulled his bangs underneath his goggles, leaving his face free of hair. His ears stuck out slightly and his nose was upturned - buttonlike. His cheeks were splattered with freckles of all different sizes, and his eyes were the colour of your corset - light blue and striking. You tilted your head.   
Varian was holding a mirror. He stared at himself, looking at his left ear, in which sat two earrings at the helix. His mouth was pursed, like he couldn't decide what to think.   
"I look like a pirate with this shirt," he decided and placed the mirror down.  
"A cute pirate," you said, and pecked him on the cheek. He spun around to you and stared at you in suprise.  
"Did you just-"   
"Nope, can't prove it," you said, helping yourself to a second serving of stew. Varian smirked to himself and raised his head towards the cave ceiling. He muttered something that sounded awfully like 'women'. You elbowed him in the side.  
You stared down at the fire, the cackling flames raising over the small brown pot, the embers illuminating the darkness they'd otherwise be engulfed in. Varian did the same, and for what seemed like ages, you both just looked. Looked and watched and took in... everything. You took in the prison break, the thievery, your lives on the run. Everything... and you started to wonder.   
What was it all for?  
"Hey freckles?" you asked, not looking away from the fire.   
"Yeah, (Y/N)?" he answered, not moving his gaze either.   
"Why do you hate them so much?"   
Varian's eyes narrowed and he looked down at the cave floor.   
"You know why," he said bitterly, memories gnawing at his mind. Memories of a dank cell, of impenetrable amber and metal automatons. You looked at him.   
"Wouldn't it just be easier to... move on?" You bit back the words as you said them, but they just kept on coming.   
"Because, Varian its been years," you put your hands on his, and he flinched, "and both of our lives would be better without this constant burden. We could travel, go places and see things. You could get a job as an alchemist, you cou- you could do so much more! You could have a life-"   
"I can't have a life until my fathers has been avenged," he spat, "they took him from me, and I'll make them pay. I'll make them all pay, and anyone who stands in my way!"   
You recoiled, looking hurt.   
He widened his eyes.   
"Wait.. no.. (Y/N) I didn't mean-"  
"Oh I think you made it perfectly clear what you mean, Varian."   
You spoke his name with such force that he physically moved away from you. His hands shook as he reached for you, but you pulled away.   
"I'm going to bed," you announced, and took yourself off into the corner of the cave.  
You curled facing the wall, and hid your face in your hands, tears streaming out your eyes and a sob lingering on your tongue. You couldn't let him hear you, but you figured the shaking of your small body might give him some clue. Good. Let him know you were in pain, then maybe the goddamn boy would come to his sens- wait what was he doing?  
Suddenly a pair of arms wrapped around you, and a torso pressed up against your back. A face buried itself into your neck, and you could feel his breaths mirroring yours. You stiffened.   
"I'm sorry, (Y/N)," Varian whispered, muffled through your hair. He tightened his grip on you, burying his face further into your locks.   
"Truly... I... I'm just mad. You're right, it would be easier to just walk away but... I can't. I don't know why, but I can't leave him," he said, his voice breaking as he spoke. You held your breath.   
Varian was crying.   
It had been months since you had broken him out of jail. Months you had spent with him, and you had never heard any of this. He had always been this untouchable thing, this moody, awkward force that followed her. He had never shown any sign of emotion, until recently. And... here he was. Crying. You unfroze and turned around in his grip to face him.   
His face wasn't red, and tears weren't streaming out of his eyes. But... he still looked devastated. 17, going on 18. He was still a boy, and you were just a girl, and together you had endured more pain that anyone should ever endure in a lifetime. You held out your hand and placed it on his cheek, which was warm, and rubbed your thumb against it. He blinked against your touch, and a tear fell onto your hand. It broke your heart.   
"Come here," you said and pulled him closer to you.  
You wrapped your arms around him and his around you, your torsos matched like puzzle pieces, like they belonged there. Your foreheads were pressed together, your noses touching, so close that you could feel his ragged breaths on your face. You sat up, pulling him with you, and rested his head on your shoulder.   
"Varian, come with me," you said as you played with his hair. He sniffed.   
"I know it's hard, but getting revenge on the princess won't help your dad," you spoke, the truth falling out of your mouth like a waterfall.   
It was powerful, and erosive, and it couldn't be stopped. Varian leant into you, listening, and let out a long, shuddery breath.   
"We could go far away from Corona, into a different kingdom with a different princess. Don't let her keep you here," you said, the last sentence like a sucker punch to both of them, but still you carried on.   
"Don't let her control you."  
Varian looked up at you and straightened his posture so that it was you leaning against him. He put his arm around your shoulder and pulled you closer, resting his head on yours, which was on his shoulder.   
"I'm sorry, (Y/N)," he said again, and as a tear fell from his face you could tell he meant every word. You closed your eyes.   
"I know, Varian, I know," you reassured.   
"Will you stay with me?" Varian asked coyly, his voice small. He meant tonight, in a sense, but you caught the second meaning.  
"Of course, through anything," you said raising your head to meet with his.   
Varian stared at you, his blue eyes swimming with tears, his cheeks red and his lips.. his lips..  
You couldn't quite focus on anything other than them.   
And neither could he.  
You stared at his mouth, which was open slightly. You stared at his two front teeth which you could see through the gap. You looked at his lower lip, how it was angled downwards slightly.   
You stared at each other.   
And neither could look away.   
You felt your eyes closing, and instinctively you leant forwards and met Varian's lips as they connected with yours, your lips moving in unison, your hands cupping each others faces. You pushed your face against his so that you could feel the rising heat in his cheeks, so that you could feel the wetness of his cheeks as the tears kept on coming.   
Varian pulled one of his hands away, and put his arm around your waist, pulling you onto him in a pose mistaken as intimate. And it was in a way.   
You caressed his cheek as you both kicked your legs softly against the pressure, a moan escaping your lips. Varian moved his other hand from your face and put it in your hair, wrapping the (H/C) locks around his fingers, entangling them around him. You laid your forearms on the ground so that you were closer to him, and played with his hair.   
Varian started to bite your bottom lip, pulling it away and letting it fall back into place. He brought his hand around your neck, and down your shoulders, and across your back. You were out of breath, but you didn't want to stop. Smiling, you rolled away from the wall, placing Varian on top of you. He didn't get to have all the fun. Before you could reach up to him, he placed his hands round your neck and pulled you onto his lap, never breaking the kiss. You bent down on him, your hands in his hair and on his neck and on his back and face and chest. You felt him, and you never wanted to let go. Varian let one of his hands go so that he could stabilise himself against you, placing it behind him and letting you fall further into him.   
Eventually, you both had to pull away.   
Breathless, your hair a mess, you stared at Varian. His lips were still parted, and slightly puffy, and his tears had dried from his face. He wasn't smiling, but you could see the happiness in his eyes. However, mostly he looked in shock. Neither of you really knew what to do. Finally, you broke the silence.   
"So we're dating now, right?" You confirmed, biting your lip. Varian laughed.  
He lent forwards and placed his warm lips on yours for a much more innocent kiss.   
"Absolutely."

The world collapsed inwards as you ran through the forest. Trees cascaded behind you blocking any chance of escape, and any chance of getting out. But still you ran.   
The sky was a dull shade of blue, illuminated from the large moon that hung omnipresent. It followed you as you sped across the ground, frost nipping at your feet as the ground froze beneath you.   
You looked behind you. You saw guards, swords in hand, running at you, having passed the wall of trees. You saw Cassandra in front, yelling bloody murder. You couldn't hear her voice, and all was quiet, but the effects of what you knew she said rang in your ears like bells. You dashed sideways, breaking the straight path between you and the guards. Your eyes danced around your surroundings, looking for any means of escape. Suddenly, the trees around you caved in, trapping you in with the guards.   
You pushed against one of the tree trunks, desperately trying to get it to budge, or break. But it didn't, and you were stuck.   
"(Y/N)!" A voice yelled, and immediately your heart stopped. You turned to see Varian, on his knees, his hands bound, a sword raised above his head.   
His eyes swum with tears, and he looked at you, shaking his raven hair at you. He looked... disappointed.   
You reached forwards, but you couldn't move. The frost had caught up to you, planting your feet still, confining you to a small area of movement. You tried to grab his hand, but the closer you got, the further away he did. You looked up.   
Behind Varian stood Cassandra, her expression icy, her mouth hardened.   
"They will pay," Varian spat, his toxic words making you want to retreat. Just like that your Varian was replaced with a vengeful and dangerous copy of himself, the version you hated, but the version you knew was there nonetheless.   
Cassandra raised her sword.   
"Yes you will," she said monotonously, and brought it down on Varian's head, the ghost of your scream echoing through the night.   
\------------------------------------------------------  
"(Y/N)?" A voice questioned. You opened your eyes to see Varian, leant in front of you, his hands on your shoulders. His face was full of worry, and he was looking at you in desperation, lightly shaking you.   
"Hey, are you alright?" He asked softly, sitting down on his knees, loosening his grip on your shoulders. You raised the back of your hand to your face, and felt the warmth and wet of your skin.   
"Ye-yeah I'm fine," you reassured, but Varian didn't look convinced. He pursed his lips, and stayed in front of you, searching for signs of what happened in your expression. You reached forwards and touched his shoulder, the realness of it calming you.   
"I'm fine," you said again, this time more confidently. Varian still didn't look satisfied, but he came and sat next to you nonetheless.   
"How long was I asleep?" You asked him as he bent down. He put his arm around you.   
"Five or six hours," he said, looking down at you. Your eyes widened.   
"Six hours!" you yelped, and Varian rushed to explain.   
"Or five," he said hurriedly, and rubbed the back of his neck, "you looked so peaceful, I didn't want to wake up. But... then you started to cry and you went really hot, so I had to. Sorry," he apologised, his words smooth and reassuring.   
"But still... you could have waken me up," you complained, your head foggy from your long sleep. Varian grinned sheepishly.  
"Guess I just have a weakness for cute things," he said, his face going red as he did so. You giggled girlishly, which wasn't like you. You couldn't help it.   
He was just so gosh darn adorable.   
It had been about a week since their run in with the guards, and to stay safe they had decided to lay low for a while. Every day you would rap a shawl around your head to conceal your features, and go out to get food. And everyday you would come back to the welcome arms of your new boyfriend.  
In your life, you had never been happier or sadder than you were at this point in time. You and Varian were still giddy over your kiss, even after a week, but the looming threat of capture stood over you both, constantly. Like... like the moon.   
You buried your head into Varian's shoulder and breathed in. He smelled like cinnamon, and in the crook of his neck you were suddenly transported to your early life, with your mum baking and your dad laughing. What you would do to go back there, even for a moment.   
"(Y/N)?" Varian asked, to get your attention. You hummed in response.   
"I was thinking I could take you out today, into the town," Varian asked, his thumb rubbing his other fingers from nerves. You looked up at him. He smiled, his eyes large. He was so awkward that it made your heart melt.   
"Oh?" You asked, letting him elaborate.   
"Well, I heard there is a festival going on, and I was wondering if you wanted to get out of the cave for a while," he said in a small voice. Bless him, he looked so nervous.   
"Varian, are you asking me out on a date?" You teased, pushing him lightly with your shoulder. He smiled downwards to himself.   
"Guess I am."  
\------------------------------------------  
The town was decorated with banners of purple and gold, the colours of Corona, and suns were engrained into everything. The road in front of you was paved with multicoloured chalk, and children swirled around in it, bringing up dust. Alongside you there were multiple stalls of multiple origin, some selling sweets and flowers, others games, others books. You intertwined your fingers with Varian's, and rested your head on his shoulder slightly as you walked. Your head was only slightly tilted, thank god, because he was so much taller than you. You guessed that was a good thing, otherwise you'd get neck ache from leaning down to far.   
You pulled Varian over to one of the stalls, where flowers were being sold. There were small purple flowers, about the size of a dandelion. There were beautiful, yellow and white ones, with large, floppy petals and luscious green stalks. They reminded you closely of the Sundrop flower, the one... the one...  
You put the thought out of your mind.   
Varian looked down at you, watching as you gazed in awe at the flowers. He smiled.   
"How much?" He asked the attendant, but you were barely listening. You were watching a caterpillar make its way up one of the plants. Suddenly, you felt a slight pressure scrape against your scalp, as Varian pushed the flower behind your ear. You pulled your hair so it didn't cover the petals and laughed a little bit behind your hand.   
"Can we have another one, please?" You asked the attendant, handing her a small coin.   
You took the flower and pushed it through the strap of Varian's goggles. This one was smaller, less in your face, and purple, so it complimented his hair nicely. He wrinkled his nose at you, but kept the flower in anyway.   
Varian snaked his arm around you, pulling you into him. Here, in this square, you could almost forget that the two of you were wanted criminals. You could almost forget that if Varian had had his way, all of this would be gone. 

They will pay.   
You pushed the intrusive thought from your mind. He had changed, for the better. He wasn't like that anymore. Still, you couldn't help looking up at him. What was going through his mind? Was he wondering about the extortionate price they had just paid for the flowers, or was he still thinking solely of vengeance? You supposed that being here, in a festival honouring the sun, Varian would likely be more on edge.   
But you couldn't see it in his face.   
It just wasn't there.   
Over by a fountain, there was a large group of people gathered around... something. As you stepped forwards, you could see a street performer, juggling knives.   
You clapped along with the crowd, whooping along with them too. The street performer set his eyes on you.   
"You!" He said, in a thick accent from somewhere. He pointed at you, his moustache rising with his mouth. He grabbed hold of your arm, and yanked you forwards in front of the crowd.   
You immediately froze, your heart batting a million. So many people... So many p... so...many  
Your head hit the ground.   
\-----------------------------------------------  
"Hey (Y/N), wake up, wake up!" You heard a panicked voice whisper, shaking your body viciously. You smelled cinnamon, and smiled. You liked cinnamon.   
"Hey Varian," you said weakly as you sat up. You were no longer in the square, but in a field. You looked behind you and saw the celebrations, which told you that you were on the outskirts of the town.   
"Hey, what happened?" He asked, his hands on yours. You looked down.   
"I guess... I-I don't know," you admitted, "there was just so many people and.. and I couldn't handle it." You said, your voice shaky at the memory. He looked at you.  
"Hey, if it makes you feel better, I faint whenever I see blood," he said randomly, making you look up at him.   
"What?" You said, in disbelief. Varian seemed so... unbothered by the happenings around him. It didn't hit you that he could be scared as well.   
"Yeah," he chuckled faintly, "when Rapunzel first came to me for help, I cut the back of my head and fainted." You widened your eyes.   
He's just said her name. Not 'princess'. He hadn't even said it through gritted teeth. He realised it too, you saw, because he quickly looked down.   
"Hey," you whispered calmly. He looked up at you.   
"Being able to talk about her is a good thing, Varian," you reminded, and he smiled.    
"I know."

"I could totally beat you in fight," you said, your arms behind your back. You turned around to face your boyfriend, who was smirking.  
"Oh really?" He asked, his arms behind his back as well. He circled you, looking around.  
"I bet I could beat you easily," you teased. Varian pounced on you, pushing you over. You giggled profusely as he leant over you, pecking your neck.   
"Got you," he joked, and you looked up at him. His smile was crooked, and his lips were curled. His eyes were large and playful, his eyebrows bent upwards. You leant up to him, matching with his lips for a moment, before pulling away. He laughed.   
"Come here," he said, and pressed his lips into yours. You wrapped your arms around his neck and pushed into him, deepening the kiss. When...  
"Hello?" A voice echoed from outside. You both froze and looked towards the door.   
"Help," they said, and a thump suggested that they had fainted. You looked at Varian, your eyes determined, and he shook his head.   
You nodded yours, and wriggled out from under him.   
You pulled back the branch, to reveal a woman donned in a purple dress. Her brown hair was curt short around her neck, and her feet... were bare. Her foot was bent at an odd angle, and was swollen. You walked up to her, cautiously, aware of Varian standing at the doorway, observing. You pulled her head towards you, and gasped. It was Rapunzel.   
You spun around to Varian, who's eyes were large.   
"We can't just leave her here," you muttered to yourself, and pulled her arm around your shoulders. Her freckled cheeks were pale, and tinted green. You looked at Varian. He shook his head.   
"I wasn't really asking for permission," you said, and he stepped back. You bit your tongue. Of course this was hard for him.   
"Look, all I mean is that if she wakes up and starts shouting, she could attract guards," you quickly corrected, looking at Varian's face. His lips were pursed in a straight line, and you could tell he was deliberating. Leave it to an alchemist to look at all the variables.   
"Fine," he grumbled after a while, "but just know that I'm doing this for us, not for her." You smiled at him as he took her other arm, not being as careful as you. You dragged her into the cave, careful not to damage her foot anymore. You laid her down against the wall, and Varian followed suit.   
You backed up and looked at your boyfriend. His face was expressionless.   
"I need some air," he announced, and promptly left the cave. You sighed and sat down next to Rapunzel.   
"Don't be too hard on him, princess," you said to her unconscious body, her face still at your remark.   
\------------------------------------------------  
A groan let you know that she was awake. You were poking the fire with a stick, your head in your arms. Varian had yet to return, and you had to say you were worried, but you couldn't leave the princess. Pascal had crawled off her shoulder, and was currently sat next to you on the log. You didn't mind, and neither did he apparently. It was weird to say the least, but then again, Pascal hadn't seen Varian.  
"Ow ow ow ow," a voice complained, and you turned to see Rapunzel reaching down towards her ankle, now raised on some spare clothes.   
"Don't touch it," you said, a little bitterly if you were honest, and put down the stick to the fire. She looked at you, her eyes wide, and retreated backwards a little bit.   
"You," she said, her eyes large from shock.   
"Me," you confirmed, and leant down by her foot. You held her toes lightly and pulled her foot to the side. She yelped as you did so, then put a hand over her mouth. As you inspected her foot, she looked around the cave in a panic.   
"He's not here, princess," you admitted, causing her to look at you.   
"I wasn't- who's not here?" She said, her brow furrowed in confusion and pain. You drew your breath sharply.   
You were confused as well.   
"I saw you in the town, when you fainted," she said, rubbing her thumbs together and gritting her teeth, "I would have come to help, but Eugene pulled me away." You blinked at her. She carried on rapidly.   
"He didn't want to draw attention to us, as we aren't really supposed to be here," she explained. Great. Now if the guards caught you, they were going to think that you kidnapped her. You and... Varian. Where was he?   
You brought out a small pot of ointment from your pocket. You applied it to her foot, and she winced with every touch.   
"Who did you think I was looking for?" Rapunzel asked as you spread the ointment around. You opened your mouth to explain, but someone beat you to the punch.   
"Me," Varian said, leant against the cave wall, his arms crossed, "hello, Rapunzel."   
The way he said Rapunzel made your heart sink a little bit, but you carried on applying the ointment. Rapunzel raised her hand to her mouth and her eyes watered up a little bit. Shakily, she replied.  
"Varian," she cautioned, her eyes sparkling against her will. He smiled weakly at you, the pain behind his eyes visible to you, even at that distance.   
"What's the damage?" He asked you, ignoring Rapunzel. You sighed and turned away from her, looking at your boyfriend.  
"Broken ankle and fractured toe," you said, surprised as he knelt down next to you. He went to put his hands on Rapunzel's foot, but she yanked it away, gasping at the pain it caused. Varian raised his eyebrow at her. Warily, she pushed it back, and Varian observed the swelling.   
"Can you heal yourself?" You asked, looking at her.   
"Y...ye-well no, not really," she admitted, "I have accelerated healing, but I no longer have my healing powers, as you should remember." She looked at Varian and he looked back, neither breaking eye contact. You coughed.  
"Sorry to break up this uhhh... little reunion, but I'm going to need to borrow Varian for a moment," you said, resting your hand on his arm. His head spun round at you, but his eyes softened when they met yours. You squeezed his arm. He sighed and got up, walking over to where you were standing.   
"Var, I know this is hard for you, but I need you to try to be the bigger person," you pleaded, and placed your hand on his cheek. You could feel Rapunzel's eyes widen, but you didn't care. He was hurting, and you wanted to help him. He leant into your hand and held your wrist, closing his eyes in contentment.   
"If you play nice, I'm sure she will too, and the last thing we need is the Princess of Corona hating you more," you reminded, and you felt him sigh. He lifted his head up towards the ceiling like, 'why me?', and brought it down again with an exasperated smile.   
"You're too nice for your own good," he smirked, and kissed your forehead lightly. You slapped his arm.   
"Go," you demanded. He rolled his eyes very visibly, swinging his leg around with his body.   
Varian walked over to Rapunzel and sat besides her, which surprised her to say the least. He crossed his arms, and sulked, but at least he was there. Progress. You coughed, and Varian raised his eyes in question.   
"We should write to Eugene," you said, and Varian choked.   
"Why?" He coughed. You huffed and sat in front of the princess.   
"Rapunzel won't be able to go anywhere for a while, and I don't want you two to be near each other for long." You rolled your eyes, speaking to them as if they were a couple of kids who'd had an argument. Varian scoffed.   
"Would you rather I write to Cassandra?" You proposed innocently, and Varian's eyes widened.   
"Eugene it is," he said, and went to get some paper. Rapunzel raised her eyebrows at you.   
"You seem like a good kid, uhhh-  
"(Y/N)," you reminded.  
"(Y/N), you seem like a good kid, and Varian, god knows he needs a good kid around him," she sighed, looking over at her former friend. You stared at her.   
"You... care about him?"   
She nodded.   
"He's only a child, and he's been through so much. I never stopped caring, but I had to do what was right. Varian... he broke the law. He kidnapped my mother and attacked Corona. He left me with no choice," she said desperately, "and he may be older now, but... he's still sore. I can tell."  
You blinked at her, processing that in your mind. She... cared about him. She actually cared. Everything that you knew about what had happened, Varian had told you. He had told you that she had turned him away, that she hadn't bothered to check up on him. He told her that she didn't care, that she abandoned him. You straightened your back.   
"One moment, princess, I need to go have a little talk with my boyfriend."

You walked over to Varian, his head buried in a bag as he searched for their paper. Innocently you tapped him on the back. He turned around.   
"Yeah?" He asked. You looked at him.   
"She does care for you Varian," you assured, putting your hands in his. He stared at you, his eyes condescending, an objection on his lips.   
"She did," he said, and handed her the paper, "but she abandoned that mentality as soon as she left me to rot in a prison cell, alone." His hands shook in yours, and you could see his brain fighting with himself. You drew your breath in.   
"You cared about them, didn't you? That's what made it sting," you realised, finally piecing together the puzzle. He nodded gravely.   
"Ever since I could remember, I've always been the weird one, the odd one out. I've always been the one that was left behind. I was bullied, picked on for my love of alchemy, and it got so bad my dad had to pull me out of school. When Rapunzel and her friends came to see me, and they asked for my help, I felt wanted. I felt like I finally had friends," he swallowed, and you waited for the 'but', "however, when Rapunzel... when she threw me out into the snow storm without a second glance, I felt used. Ridiculed. Cast aside. I had no one, and the only person that cared about me..." He looked at you.  
"The only person that cared about me was my dad, and he died. He died, and in my mind, I connected both sources of sadness and abandonment together," you widened your eyes, "I know Rapunzel didn't kill my dad. I know it wasn't her fault. But... but if she had come when I asked her to, or even afterwards, I wouldn't have done what I did. I just needed someone. Anyone. She didn't check up on me once," he spat, memories swimming in his irises.   
You reached up to him and kissed him on the cheek.   
"She's here now," you reminded, and rubbed your thumb along his bottom lip softly, "and you were going to have to face her at some point, why not get it over with." You caressed his cheek, and he leaned into you.  
"I love you," you promised, and his face lit up with shock, which then changed to joy as he leant down, kissing you.   
"I love you, too," he whispered into your lips.  
You pulled away, smiling, and nodded your head towards Rapunzel. He sighed.   
"Not yet," he said, his voice wavering.   
"How about we write that letter, then?" You suggested, and took his hand.

\----------------------------------------------------  
Eugene,   
My name is (Y/N), and I have Rapunzel here with me. She has injured her foot, and is unable to walk. We are in a cave just off of a town called Tandise. Our cave is hidden, but if you call, we'll hear you and come.  
Be warned, me and Rapunzel are not alone. Varian is here with us. The conditions of you taking her is that you leave him alone. Capiche?   
Good.  
Come as soon as you can. Bring no guards. We don't want trouble.   
You put your quill down, staring at the letter in your hands. You walked over and handed it to Rapunzel, who stared at it, her eyes scanning the words.   
"Isn't this a little threatening?" She queried, her finger pointing to the text. You shrugged.   
"I won't let them take him," you said simply, and took the letter back. You rolled it up and strapped it to Pascals back. Rapunzel whispered to him.  
"Be careful," she warned, and watched as he crawled through the leaves, disappearing into the beyond.  
\---------------------------------------------------  
Varian sat down next to the princess, looking down at his hands.   
"I'm not bad," he muttered under his breath. Rapunzel looked at him, then at you, like she couldn't believe he was talking to her.   
"I never said you were, but you've done bad things," she corrected, "we had to act accordingly."  
He laughed, which surprised her.   
"Then why didn't you visit me? Why didn't you check up on me? I was in prison, by your hand, and you left me there to rot."  
Rapunzel shifted away, passing agony on her face as she moved her foot.   
"Because it was hard for me, Varian. You kidnapped my mother, you... you... you almost killed her! I still get nightmares of that dreaded monster you created, of those awful machines you built. You scare me, and I couldn't face you," she scanned him up and down, "and to be perfectly fair, I still can't."  
Varian stared at her, his mind processing her confession.   
"Oh," he said softly, his shoulders relaxed. His eyes were wide, and looking at him there, his arms loose at his sides, sitting on his knees, you couldn't help but notice how innocent he looked. How much he looked like a... a kid. He looked down, his Adam's apple bobbing in his throat as he gulped.   
"I get nightmares too," he whispered. Rapunzel looked at him.   
"What?" She questioned, her eyebrows furrowed in confusion.   
"I get nightmares too, of the machines. I get nightmares of my dad, and... and of you," Varian swallowed, shifting his eyes up to Rapunzel.  
"You? Of me?" She stuttered. Varian nodded.   
"I'm sorry," she apologised, putting a hand on Varian's shoulder, wonkily smiling at him. He looked at her, eyes big, childish wonder seeping through. Before he remembered. He scoffed, pushing her hands off.   
"Yeah, well, I'm not. The only thing I'm sorry about is the fact that my plan didn't work," he said harshly, before getting up and walking over to the fire. You sighed, and took his place by Rapunzel.   
She was smiling.  
"Progress," she sung, placing her hands behind her head. You giggled behind your hand, and glanced over at your boyfriend. His eyes were drooping, and the stick in his hand fell out of his grip.   
"Oh no," you gasped, and rushed over to catch him. He fell into your arms, his head drooping as he began to snore softly. You picked him up - since he was light - and laid him over in the corner. You sat next to him, playing with his hair, and watching his face at peace for once.   
"He doesn't hate you princess," you smiled, and leant down, kissing him, "he's incapable of hating someone, no matter how much he objects."  
Rapunzel smiled.   
"Go. Rest. I'm not going anywhere." She coaxed, her expression soft. You grinned at her, before laying down next to Varian, and placing his arms around you. You closed your eyes.  
"I'm sorry, (Y/N)," Varian whispered in your ear, and tightened his grip on you, nuzzling his nose into your neck.   
"You did fine, Var," you assured, before closing your eyes.


	28. Chapter 28

"Oh do go on, Papa!" A small voice chirps from under the covers, her soft hair fluffy on her pillow. Her brother, who is significantly smaller than her, also tries to voice his wishes. 

"Go, Papa!" The toddler mumbles, and the message is caught by their father, who is sat at the end of their bed, his arm wrapped tightly around his wife. 

Varian chuckles, and opens up the book he has secretly kept hidden from the children. He knew, see, that they would ask. He always knew. 

It was an old book, dusty - not from disuse but from age. The pages were torn, and although it was only a short story, some of the words had faded as the ink had peeled. Varian looked at it with nostalgic fondness, remembering the soft hands that had cradled him, and the rough, calloused fingertips that had done so in the years following. 

"I guess," Varian teases, and you giggle from under his embrace. 

Varian clears his voice starkly, and the children go silent in anticipation as their father strokes the textured pages of the book. 

"Once upon a time, there was a tower," he starts, and Estelle hiccoughs. 

He clears his throat again, louder, and little Fabio giggles with his sister. 

"Once upon a time, there was a tower," Varian reads, the room latched onto his every word, "and in the tower sat the Queen Rapunzel, then a princess, at the age of 8."

It was known of Varian's past with the Queen, and it was not mentioned amongst the two of them. You watched the years go by, at his side, and watch the tension slip away. However, the villagers remember still, and their harsh words cause bullets to pierce your heart.

"She was sat, her long golden locks curled into a ball beside her, as he poured over a book. The book, which was red and green and quite cheaply made, was her pride and joy. It was a Yuletide book, a Christmas story, and Rapunzel adored it so. She had acquired it at the age of 5, and had read it ever since, as soon as the frost of winter nipped her bare toes."

Estelle laughs. 

"Bare toes?" She questioned, and Fabio laughs along, unaware of the joke. He is only 3, after all. 

You share a look with your husband, and roll your eyes at him. 

"You know fully well that Queen Rapunzel doesn't wear shoes," Varian scolds jokingly, and in response, his daughter bows her head in mock guilt.

"As I was saying," Varian continues. 

"On the first page, there was a man of an age unknown to humankind, his beard white with knowledge and his nose red with wisdom. His belly was large and round. Rapunzel was fascinated with him. She had never seen some look so happy, and she could never see pointed teeth in his wide grin. Mother said to her that humans lie, and so they had painted the man with a smile as bright and shining as her own. For, Mother had said, that she was desirable to many. So, Rapunzel believed her, and went on in innocence to the outside world for many a year following."

"The end," Varian said, as he closed the book. You stifle a laugh, and the look you saw on the children's faces was worth every penny you had ever earnt.

"No, Papa, please!" Estelle begged, and Varian looked at you in mock contemplation. He brings his hands to his stubbled chin, and rubs in thought. 

"I dunno, (Y/N), should we continue?" He asks. You rub your chin as well. 

"It is pretty late, and Estelle looks very tired..."

"NO IM NOT!" The girl yells, pulling her eyes wide open and doll like in an attempt to convince her parents of her lie. 

"Okay, okay," Varian laughs, and you join in too. Estelle was sure funny, with her fathers wit and humour too. You weren't sure whether that was a good thing, though. 

Varian opens up the book. 

"A decade has passed, and Rapunzel was sat with her boyfriend, Eugene, painting a portrait of little Pascal the chameleon absentmindedly. How can she paint out of focus, you ask? Well, Rapunzel's mind was wandering elsewhere. She turned to Eugene."

"'Eugene?' Rapunzel asked, 'Who is the man in red who comes on Christmas Night?' Eugene looked at his love, and with two wide eyes said: 'You don't know Santa Claus?'"

The two kids gasped, and Fabio almost fell out of the bed with excitement. 

"Rapunzel shook her head. 'No,' she said, and Eugene pressed his hand to his head in wonder. But, the look on Rapunzel's face told him she was serious. Now was not the time for jokes, and boy, did Eugene sure love a good joke. He reached forwards, grasped Rapunzel's hands and looked at her eyes. 'Santa Claus is a magical man, who brings gifts to those who have been good,' Eugene explained, and Rapunzel's eyes widened. 'Oh,' she said, 'then how come I've never seen him in person?' Eugene bit onto his lip. 'Because, Blondie, it is forbidden,' Eugene said. Rapunzel looked downwards."

"Oh," Varian breathed. 

"What?" Estelle asked, childish question raised in her voice. 

"I think Ruddiger's been at the pages," he laughed, showing the mangled book to his children. 

You waited for the tears. 

You waited for the tantrums. 

You waited for the screeches, the screams, and the shouts.

"Okay," Estelle yawned, and curled up next to her brother in such finality that it left you and Varian in shock. 

"Oh... goodnight Estelle," you said softly, and she hummed in response. 

"Goodnight, Fabio," Varian whispered to his sons head, kissing his black curls. 

He turned back to you and placed his arm lazily over your shoulders, kissing your cheek. 

"Merry Christmas, (Y/N)," Varian whispers in your ear, and his tone of voice changed. 

You turned to him, red, as you gazed into his eyes. And, slowly but surely, a devious grin appears on your face. 

"Let's make it one, then, shall we?" You whisper playfully and saunter out of the room, leaving two sleepy children and a very flustered husband.


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a continuation of one of my previous oneshots (you can probably figure out which one). I didn't want to edit that chapter and put this with it because then those that have already read all of the oneshots (so far) would not find it. So, here it is.

Endless corridors that spun like a deceptive web; the air viscous and poisonous; the ceiling falling closer yet flying away. It was all too much for him, too much for one single boy to handle. Ironic, isn't it? For a genius to be beaten by his own mind. Almost poetic, and, almost fact in most cases. Artists gone mad, composers; deaf. Always beaten by that which we love most.   
Although, Varian wasn't sure he was beaten. At least, not yet. There was a clear sound in the air, not as loud as it once was but certainly present, like a carrot on a stick. This particular rabbit walked, overwhelmed, through the halls, not opening the doors just yet. Just listening, craning his ears for more of a sign.   
Nothing hurt anymore. Not here. Not the weight of his shoulders or the ache of his eyes or the sting of his wrists - cut deep. It was all null and numb, like it wasn't real. But it felt so... so there. So present. So intense. Like a candle that refused to die, even after the wick is long burnt out.   
The floor was glassy and clear yet dulled and misted, like an aged window pane. Varian wondered what he would see through it, through the top layer of his mind down to the bottom. But, as if like clockwork, he pushed it from his thoughts as he did every, single time.   
It was grand, but not so, and it was large yet small in the sense of infinity - not a definite number but large enough. But, who knows? Infinity doesn't exist, its as small and as large as you wish, because it cannot be defined. Heck, Varian may end up back where he last stepped in a short click of his heel, or carry on forever into the nothingness - anything was possible. And, as a scientist, that both intrigued and scared him witless.   
The noise was near gone now. Nostalgia floated past him in bubbles, and staircases turned on their heads at the slightest inkling he wanted it so. He was in control, but not so.   
And that, was the scariest part of it all.   
\---------------------------------------------------  
"Varian!" (Y/N) called, aware that her cries were to no avail. You and Rapunzel followed no signs, or sounds, and had no inkling to where you were going.   
"(Y/N) save your breath," Rapunzel advised, her bare feet making no dent in the deafening silence as they crashed into the ground with every step.   
You sympathised; it wasn't easy. It seemed Varian's mind was trying to be rid of the pests, to say, them.   
Thick air and cascading nightmares, this place was designed to kill. You sincerely hoped that this was just standard however. Varian wouldn't do that.  
Would he?  
Honestly you weren't sure anymore. Every minute, hour, second you spent here seemed to drain you of the remaining life you had left. Faces faded fast and memories quickened their retreat. And, as demonstrated with Rapunzel, your muscles ached and pulled - trying to drag you into the ground.   
It was terrible.   
How could this be his mind? The sweet, intuitive, slightly loud boy that you knew couldn't possible be reduced to... well this! in his most basic form. Such a beautiful mind should require a beautiful playground to go with it. This didn't seem right.   
"Rapunzel," you breathed, aware of your lungs heaving and breeching against every breath. You could hear her neck creak as she looked up to face you, hear the plea deep within her to stop. Every step was agony.   
"Something isn't right," you said, and as if to mirror your concern, a scarlet mist dropped lower over their heads, as if closing them in.   
"I know," she replied, out of breath, "but what choice do we have?"  
You gritted your teeth, the bile in your throat causing a pain to erupt down your neck as you swallowed it. The hollows of your cheeks were falling in on themselves and your lips were barren of colour.   
"Varian," you said defiantly, defiant to the mist, to the atmosphere, to everything. You would find him.   
\------------------------------------------------  
The voices were louder now. Too loud.   
Memories of his father, and his rich laugh that filled the hearty room, his mothers indignant sigh that followed it as she swatted him on the arm. A baby Varian giggling on the floor, rocking on the ball of his back, eyes tight with joy. He could almost smell the almond cake in the oven, and the sweet choke of the fire.   
Varian brought his legs up to his chest, his head in his knees as he took in his surroundings. He'd heard of 'voices in your head', but this was too much.   
It wasn't bad though.   
It was certainly better than it was out there.   
The sickly drip of their happiness was like a drug, a drug that distracted Varian of his whims and hardships. Of everything. And, at the same time, it was a constant battering reminder of what he had lost.   
That playfulness, that familiarity, that joy.   
It was all gone.   
Varian reached out, his arm feebly trying to grip at the fog that surrounded him in an attempt to hold on to something! Something pure and beautiful and alive and there.   
He recoiled his hand sharply.   
There was nothing.  
The absence of cold, the abundance of nothingness was all to prevalent; it was disturbing. Disconcerting. Terrifying.   
Varian cradled his arm gingerly, staring in horror at the grey that was closing in.   
"Varian!"  
"Varian can you hear me?"  
Varian snapped his head up, his neck clicking, and scrambled to his feet.   
"(Y/N)?" He whispered hoarsely, scratched from crying, his eyes dry from the lack of tears.  
A vague figure appeared on the other side of the grey. Two grey figures.  
"Varian come out please," the first figure begged, and Varian blinked.  
Once.   
Twice.   
"You're not (Y/N)," he said, and ran through the smoke.   
"YOU'RE NOT REAL!"


	30. Chapter 30

"Papa?" I whispered, the darkness engulfing us, so I can only guess where he is.   
"Yes, Estelle?" He replied, his gloved fingers running themselves through my hair.   
"What was she like?" I asked, laying my head on his shoulder. The point of his sheath dug into my side slightly, but I still leant closer, letting my brown locks mingle with his raven ones. The sky was littered with small stars, but one shone the brightest, just above us.   
"Your mother was quite special, sweetheart," Papa replied, his voice laced with nostalgia and happiness. In the torchlight I could barely make out the hint of a smile, his face youthful despite the years that had been thrown at it.   
"She used to dance, you know, under stars just like these," he said, and I chuckled.   
"Papa, these are the same stars," I corrected, and he shook his head.   
"No, hers were brighter, somehow," he sighed, moving his arm around my shoulders. I shifted on the log, and moved closer to him still, clinging to the last family I had.   
"She used to dance, and when she danced, the whole world stopped and stared at her. Her dress flew in the wind and I remember watching with the biggest grin. She attracted so much attention, even though we were on the run, but she always managed to distract them," Papa recalled, his voice heavy and deeper than before, the slow slosh of chemicals the backing track to his story.   
"They never looked at her face?" I asked, and Papa laughed.   
"They were so mesmerised by her face, their brain didn't work. It's scientifically proven, you know. It happened to me quite frequently."  
-  
-  
"Varian! Come dance with me!" She laughed, her dress twirling around her feet as she blew like a daisy in the wind.   
Varian, years removed from under his eyes, stood by a large tree, a shadow covering his features. He watched, watched his friend and wife frolic in the flowers, making them look small and insignificant compared to her.   
"I'm okay watching from here," Varian said, and she pouted.   
He would regret that, years later, regret that he didn't hold her close and swing her round.   
Moments missed.   
"Spoilsport," she teased, her tongue poking from her lips, lips that Varian wished more than anything he could capture with his own. Lips that provided the poetry of life, lips that powered the clockwork inside of him. Clockwork that was now rusted, and stuck, and forgotten.   
Her feet twirled and hid behind the long grass, her shoes discarded by her boyfriend, the momentum she had built causing her hair to fly behind her.   
She was beautiful, and shone bright. Her stomach, considerably swollen, but not for much longer, only added to her grace. She was like a nymph in the forest, carrying the seed of life. She caused the world to turn.   
And then she caused it to stop.   
"Honey!" Varian rushed forwards, cradling the head of his wife in his hands. He wore gloves that day; he would never touch her again.   
"She's coming," she breathed, cradling the bottom of her stomach in her hands, beads of sweat dripping down her pristine skin, her eyes wide with the pain of childbirth.   
-  
-  
"Don't leave me," Varian sobbed, his hair wet from effort and his face streaked with the tears that plead for her life.   
Cradling the baby in the nook of his arm, Varian pawed at his wife, desperately trying to bring her back. Her eyes were open, and glass, the joy of her child frozen still in them.   
Frozen forever in them.  
"Please," Varian cried, his voice quiet and broken, and his energy gone. She didn't move as he shook her arm; she didn't cry out from his grip.   
Only the baby did, her small face sticky with the blood that killed her mother, her small arms reaching out towards the sky, the sky that sported a new shining star.   
"Please."   
Varian's broken pleadings were lost.  
She was lost.   
He was lost.   
-  
-  
"She's still dancing, isn't she Papa?" I imagined, staring up at the brightest star in the sky. She seemed to smile at me.   
"I imagine so," Papa sighed, the crackling of a man who lost everything present and shattering in his voice.   
"What did you do? When she died," I asked, wary of his fragile feelings. I felt his large blue eyes settle on me.   
"I ran, far away, with you," Papa said, "and I left her under the flowers, close to the earth."  
He looked down at our feet.  
"She's here, isn't she Papa?" I smiled, and Papa tightened his arm around me.   
"She is, moonlight, she is," he said, smiling too.   
I grasped his hand, pulling the gloves from his worked fingers, and pulled him from his seat.   
"Estelle," he cautioned, and I shook my head.  
"Dance with me, Papa," I asked.   
I spun, and he spun, his movements sudden and unsure, following the lead of myself, who was also unsure. Yet, I was so sure that this was right.   
I felt the flowers beneath my worn shoes, the long grass tickling my bare ankles. I felt my Papa's feet more than once on my own, heard his silent swears as he did so, and heard his mute happiness surround me.   
And then he pulled me close to him, the soft stubble on his chin brushing against my cheek. He shook, finally at rest; finally able to move.   
"She would be so proud of you, Estelle," he cried, and droplets of tears mixed with my own.   
And in the moment,  
I could have sworn that the star shone a little brighter.


	31. Chapter 31

This is a soulmate AU that I saw somewhere on Tumblr (if you know the person who came up with it, tell me!) - basically any injuries that your soulmate gets, you get. This next bit it is my own head cannon: yes, this also means that when your soulmate dies, you die - people die in pairs. This includes cancer, but not genetic diseases. But, you don't get the pain that comes with it. If someone dies from a genetic disease then their soulmate dies from like a heart attack etc. This isn't relevant, but I just wanted to add an explanation in case someone wanted to magpie the AU. I know this isn't good, but I haven't put anything out in a while.  
TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE!!!  
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-  
"Miss (L/N), are you paying attention?" Your teacher spat, her wrinkles rippling like the sea as her pruned lips lathered her chin in saliva.   
You scrunched up your nose, putting away your notebook hastily inside your bag and looking back up at the gorgon.   
"Yes miss, just writing notes," you preened, sweetly batting your eyelids at the teacher and twirling a pen in your hand - it was broken and chewed, but the message was there.   
She turned back, raccoon hands gripping onto a pen as she squeaked along the whiteboard, algebra equations materialising much to the classes dismay. You curled your hand underneath your chin, in a casual boredom, and let your eyes flutter half lidded as you zoned out. Algebra wasn't even bad, but when the teacher who taught it looked like she just crawled out of a sarcophagus, it was much, much worse.   
"Psst!" Someone hissed from beside you. Well, 'someone' was Alex, your best friend of five years, but he didn't need to know that. You looked over at him slightly, still maintaining the mirage that you were paying attention, and surveyed him slightly.   
His hair was pushed back, in a totally not Alex-like way and circular glasses adorned his button nose. Brown curls tickled his ears and his back was hunched - which was definitely in an Alex trait.   
"What?" You hissed back out the corner of your mouth.   
He pointed to your arm, and you frowned slightly, raising your eyebrows in question. He pointed more forcefully and widened his eyes more, making him look like a car with the lights up really bright.   
And then you looked downwards, and gasped.  
"Miss (L/N)!" Your teacher screeched, spinning around on a pivot, her face red with fury.   
The class, naturally, spun around in union with her, to needle in on the object of ridicule.   
"Miss, she's bleeding," Alex offered, and gestured towards you, and with a blank face you held your arm up, blood trickling down your elbow and in deep splotches onto the table from a deep gash on your wrist.   
Immediately, whispers erupted from the class.   
"I didn't do it," you quickly explained, suddenly aware of the situation at hand, and suddenly aware of sprouting slices across your forearm.   
"Go to the nurse!" A girl screamed from the back of the class, in response to the teacher whose face had gone white with shock.   
You stood, tripping on yourself at the sudden blackness that came over you; unconscious before you even hit the floor.   
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-  
Beep.  
Beep.  
Beep.  
You opened your eyes, the whiteness of the hospital walls overbearing your senses and sending a spike of pain through your head.   
You groaned, bringing your arms - unusually heavy - up to your forehead to cradle it, and to cover yourself from the light.   
Rough bandages rubbed against your nose, and tickled your cheeks, which you weren't prepared for. On second thoughts, the hospital setting might have been a clue.   
The clock on the wall was blaringly loud, and paired with the beeping monster beside you, your head was not having an easy time.   
What happened?  
"Hello?" A voice sounded from besides you, small and weary and strained.   
You almost didn't hear it.  
You looked over, only just noticing the second bed in the room, at a boy around your age, black hair streaked with blue with bandages to match yours, spare for the expression of utter gloom.   
You were both laying down, probably because you couldn't get up, so the boy face mixed with the occasional rise of your scratchy covers and wisps of hair.   
"Hi," you answered back, still searching for him amongst the mess of white. The boy turned over to look at you, his face pale and eyes sunken in.   
"What you in for?" He asked, and you sniggered slightly.   
"It's the hospital, not prison," you said snidely, but when he frowned you realised that was probably a bad idea.   
You held up your arms to him, and the slight movement caused the IV next to you to move slightly, sliding in front of your view for a couple of seconds.   
"You did it too," the boy whispered, and it was your turn to frown.   
"Did what?" You asked, sucking in on your breath as you realised what you said, regretting the words as soon as they came out of your mouth.   
"Try to kill yourself."  
Beep.  
Beep.  
"No, I didn't," you whispered hoarsely, "these just appeared."  
The boy looked at you, but at the same time looked away, his eyes glassy and just not in the room.   
"They can't just appear," the boy said, "it's not possible."  
You sighed.   
"What about the soulmates thing?" You said, and the boy scoffed. It was joyful, and foreign up to this point.  
"Are you insinuating that we're soulmates?" He teased, a slight semblance of... something in his voice. The slight ghost of smile lines on his cheeks, and the indent of a dimple.   
-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-*-  
"He died, poor thing, not long afterwards," a woman with long hair and a doctors coat said to her colleague, "he went into surgery to deal with the tumour that started his downwards spiral into depression, and died on the operating table."  
Her colleague, a short woman with short brown hair, combed her fingers.   
"What about the girl?" She asked, in a hushed tone.   
"Soulmates," the doctor smiled, sad, "they didn't even know each other more than a week."   
"She made him smile though, in those final days?" The nurse spoke knowingly.  
The doctor smiled, her blonde hair and blue eyes sparkling in memory.  
"Naturally."


	32. Chapter 32

"When I fantasize about a woman in cuffs, this isn't exactly what I imagine," he said, stroking your face tenderly with his grease stricken fingers, his scruffy beard tickling your cheek as he got to close for comfort.  
"But I can make it work."  
You scoffed, turning your head away from him as he fiddled with your handcuffs, taking far too long.  
"Hey, knock it off," your freckled accomplice yelled, and the Pig turned over to him. It was funny really; they weren't exactly on the same level. Freckles was tall, and skinny, and in theory not at all intimidating, but his electric eyes that swirled like a whirlpool caused your stomach to erupt into fits of breaths that latched desperately onto sanity when they stared at you.  
On the other hand, Pig was short and stout with a bristly moustache and a similar beard, like a diseased caterpillar escaping the depths of the apocalypse. He must have been about a foot under Freckles, and the wrinkles the lined the underbellies of his eyes sunk into his face when he glared, making him seem less scary and more drunken.  
You smirked at them, both considered men by the loosest of threads, and crossed one leg behind the other in casual criminality, mind wandering back to the insane moment you decided to rob this mansion in the first place. Of course, it wasn't insane in theory, but when Freckles decided to crash the party, everything went downhill.  
You didn't even know his name, but apparently crashing headfirst into each other, armed with crossbows and daggers, was a decent first meeting. Although, that would be if he hadn't opened his mouth.  
The extensive sarcasm! The threatening hardening of his non existent shoulders! The shaking of his measly knife! Woe to everyone who crosses him!  
"Stop smirking sweetheart," the Pig growled, paws clutching at your wrists with his obese digits, wrangling with the handcuffs that he only just put in place.  
"What the hell are you - hey!" You complained, hand now dangerously close to that of Freckles, whose shoulders were squared (barely) next to your head, nose twitching like a rabbit and eyes wide with anger like a kitten. It was adorable that he was trying, really.  
You both shook your conjoined wrists at the Pig, who laughed like a meat grinder and turned away from you, walking over to the prison cart that was manned by two soldier horses.  
"Great," Freckles mumbled, crossing his arms broodingly and dragging you with him.  
"Watch it, splash," you argued, pulling your arm back and making the lamppost topple.  
"Splash?" He questioned, undeniable curiousity masked by the mirage of angst that had befallen him.  
"Yeah splash," you said, putting your free hand on your hip, "if you hadn't dropped that green bottle of goop on the floor, making me slip and notify the guards, then we wouldn't even be in this mess!"  
Freckles just turned away from you, a small smile playing at his lips.  
"You think this is funny?" You whispered, laced with the force of a shout, and Freckles chuckled, out loud this time.  
"We won't make it to the prison," he notified, "I know some tricks."  
You stared up at him, eyebrow raised in a universal symbol of disbelief.  
"Really?" You mused, your eyes going wide and lips playing a smile of mock admiration, "Wow!"  
He was not amused, funnily enough.  
You were though.  
"Come on lovebirds, into the pit," a woman called, her guard outfit gleaming with pride and sickly devotion. You squinted at the name badge.  
"Huh," you smiled, looking at the woman, "wouldn't have thought guards would have name badges. Like, howdy doo, my names Steve, prepare to die."  
The female guard squinted her eyes at you, and you shuffled in your spot, zeroing your eyes onto her grey orbs.  
"Of course, that would be assuming that 'Steve'," You made air quotes with your free hand, "can actually aim."  
"So Cassandra," Freckles started, emphasising her name with an obvious reel of disgust, "you gonna shoot, waste the arrow in that crossbow?"  
The guard - Cassandra - furrowed her brow as she shifted her newly placed hand from her crossbow to her sword. As if that was any less threatening.  
"Have we met?" She growled, and Freckles raised his eyebrows in amusement.  
"I don't believe we have," he answered, smiling in a way that said 'Yes. Yes we have you idiot.'  
Cassandra turned, flicking her fingers and beckoning two lesser guards to steal them onto the cart.  
You stared up questioningly at the man beside you, but his gaze was hard set on the approaching guards.  
"Well," you said, turning back to Dumb and Dumber, "this ought to be fun."  
\---------------------------------------------------------------------------  
"Now would be a great time to bust out your 'tricks', Freckles," you mumbled, shifting as far as possible away from the man sat next to you. His jaw was set.  
"Bit harder when I'm attached to you," he cast back, and you grumbled incoherent noises under your breath. Gobbledegook, essentially.  
"So what's your name?" You asked, clearing the silence that he had created by being such a downer.  
"Nope," he said, popping the 'P' like a darn child.  
"Oh come on!" You yelled, slouching back in your seat and pulling him forwards a little bit. You slapped your forearm down over your eyes and groaned, fighting the migraine that threatened your skull every time the clip-clop of the horses shoes chimed rhythmically.  
"Varian," he whispered, and you slid a glance from the underneath the sleeve. You smiled, pulling your eyes back underneath it, and whistling.  
"Well, what's a big shot like you doing pulling small town robberies," you teased, and then simultaneously yelped as he pulled his arm upwards, nearly dislocating your shoulder.  
"Hey!" You poked, but he just smiled, straightening out his ruffled sleeve. He smirked, turning his eyes down to you.  
"Got to get the money from somewhere, right?"  
You smiled to yourself, clicking your tongue.  
"Thought you'd have lackeys that would do that kind of think for you?"  
Varian looked away, not in guilt, but to avoid the question.  
"Oh, Mister Lone Wolf doesn't have any friends," you mocked, putting on a baby voice as you leant your head back against the cold iron of the rocking cart.  
He didn't answer.  
You cocked your head, intrigued.  
"What -"  
"Shhh."  
And then came the glorified clink of handcuffs, crashing to the ground.  
And then the roll of a potion from the folds of a boot, causing the cart to stall and horses to depart.  
Varian turned to you, his once rabbit nose turned still and scrawny face endearing and slightly terrifying.  
"Shall we, m'lady?"


	33. Chapter 33

No-one wants to be faced with a problem that smiles a mile wide in the darkness and flees before the sun rises. A problem whose passion stampedes in bouts of chaos and runs in tributaries of blood. A problem so elusive that once it's left, you're not even sure that it was there at all.

  
That's your problem.

  
The ashen remains of Old Corona blew around in the dusk air, the amber remnant of the flames staining the sky and the smoke - now invisible - choking out any inch of life it could find. Villagers gathered scared and scorched in the streets, in a group notably fewer than it was before. The black rocks pierced through the charred dust mockingly, pointed and armed at the intruding good that set foot before them. Menacingly, they grinned.

  
And images of machines and magic flashed through everyone's head.

  
"Is everyone alright?" You call, fanning your face of the smoke. The distant yet suffocating burn of the embers reflect off your shining uniform, and starkly contrasts the scarce rags of the townsfolk.

  
"You were supposed to help us," a man coughed, leaning on a blackened piece of wood that wavered underneath his mighty weight, "you were supposed to catch him."  
Your breath caught in your throat, the words snuffed out so suddenly that you thought they would block the air to your heaving lungs.

  
"We're doing our best, sir."

  
Your lie hung heavy upon the tainted air, and as the villagers inhaled your dishonesty, one by one their faces turned gaunt. Not angry, not depressed. Tired.

  
A scream.

  
You turned, reminded suddenly of every single town before this. You knew what was going to come next, but still the sight of his body sent a wave of sick nostalgia through your body. You retched in the back of your throat, but your face betrayed nothing.

  
A woman - still young, her face etched with the ghost of innocence - ran forth, anchored by the body she cradled in her arms. The fresh scent of death wafted over the crowd, and many looked away. Recognition burned in their eyes, and tears extinguished the flames.

  
"My son, my dear son," she wailed, falling to her knees and cradling the bloodied and blackened head of a young boy to her chest; her heaving breaths rattling the ruined bones of the child, "look what you did to my son!"

  
Your lips wavered and your eyes went wide, although your face was scarily neutral. No-one should ever become accustomed to something this... this horrid, you reminded yourself. Don't become numb. 

  
"Miss, I'm so sorry for your loss," you tried, but her hair - matted and tangled - stuck to her ears and blocked out all sound.

  
And as you looked on, to the beaten and broken crowd - whose lives were forever stained with the stench of death - you turned, back to them, and left for the castle.   
You could feel their glare on your back. It matched the sting of your eyes.

  
_"Oh Varian! It's beautiful!" You swooned, leaning your shoulder against the solidness of your newly betrothed, his smile wide and joyous and spread to the stars as he looked at the ring on your finger._

  
_"You like it?" He chuckled - half cocky, half unsure - and you reached up and kissed the sharp curve of his jaw_

  
_"I'll never take it off," you promised, the declaration of love dying in your mouth as he swung you off the ground and held you tightly in his arms._

  
_"I would hope not," he whispered into your ear, and caught your lips with his, your bodies becoming entangled and hot and one as the day ticked over anew._

  
You stormed up the castle, ignoring the crying please of the guardsmen that ran after you.

  
It wasn't much these days, what with the royal family hiding away, or dead. Cowards, the lot of them, although you couldn't blame them.

  
You tasted the memories on the stagnant air as you swiftly ran through the torn gardens, the harsh and scratched metal of your armour glinting dangerously as you did so.

  
_"I think a small wedding, how about you?" You theorised, clutching the arm of your beloved as you strolled leisurely through the colourful flora of the Corona Palace Gardens. He smiled onwards._

  
_"You know Rapunzel would never let that happen," he joked, and you sighed teasingly, drooping your head for added effect._

  
_"I know. Eugene would probably provide half the guests himself," you laughed, and Varian wrinkled his nose._

  
_"I think most of the people Eugene knows are locked tight in a jail cell," he admitted, and you looked up at him with an eyebrow raised._

  
_"Like you're one to talk"_

  
You slashed your sword at the floor, blades of grass flying up and dropping swiftly down again, sad and lifeless and dead.

  
Having finally abandoned the guards, you sobbed quietly, and drew your knees to your chest in a secluded corner - letting the emotions rush over you.

 

You remembered the woman, her son.

  
The countless others before her, and the many that would follow.

  
You remembered your own loss.

  
_"Varian?" You cautioned, the nursery deadly silent, filled with anticipation and dread and heavy breaths that racked the foundations of the house._

  
_"Varian are you there?"_

  
_You turned the corner, and stood in the open doorway - staring in at your husband and child. He held a pillow loosely; it dragged along the floor. He stared at baby Estelle._

  
_"Varian, is something wrong?"_

  
_He turned to you, and his expression was pristinely glassy, but his eyes were burning with rage and delight and sickness. He was giddy._

  
_"No dear. Go back to sleep."_

_You stood there still despite his order - it had been an order - and went to move closer._

  
_"Varian what's wrong?"_

  
_He smiled a crocodile's smile._

  
_"Nothing."_

  
Your chest wracked with the pain of the past, and your mind raced through asbestos lined clouds that choked your very being. Your hands hugged your stomach with a fierce protection that you would never be able to use again. An instinct that was wrenched from you too soon.

  
And you thought back to when it all began.

  
His smile.

You remembered how lovely you had felt, his kisses trailing up your bare shoulder as he left for work - late for work.

  
You remembered practically skipping up the stairs.

  
_"Estelle, mummy's here!"_

  
_You grabbed the door frame and swung yourself into the nursery._

  
You sobbed, fingernails digging into your hands.

  
_Her little face, swollen and purple and thick with betrayal._

  
The last time you had seen him, the last time you had gazed scared into the pit that was his eyes.

  
_"Don't take it personally, honey. You were nothing more than a pawn, you know. The ritual needed a blood sacrifice, one from my own blood. Zhan Tiri was very particular about that little detail. You understand of course, why I used you?"_

  
_You had stepped back, clutching onto the hilt of your sword with shaking arms._

  
_"I'd like to say that I loved you, at one point"_

  
You cried. His smiles, his laughs, the tender trail of his fingers at night.

  
_"But the truth is..."_

  
You fiddled with the clasp of your scabbard.

  
_Her little face, swollen and purple..._   
_Purple and thick with betrayal._

  
You took the hilt of your sword and held it to your throat.

  
_"Varian, what's wrong?"_

 

More sobs. You closed your eyes.

  
_A crocodile smile._

  
_"Nothing."_

  
The world went black with one fell swoop.

  
_"I never did love you (Y/N)."_

 

 


	34. Chapter 34

“Oh God,” Varian moaned, pushing his raven hair up in stress and annoyance as he looked at the scene around him.

Or lack of a scene, more like.

Pale, blond dust blew across the ground in a mist, hovering only slightly above the equally pale dirt. A smattering of dead trees scattered the expanse of area around him, and the odd scorpion scuttled past his feet.

The only thing of any interest was the road that lay in front of him. Clean, almost ethereal – and completely straight, seemingly both disappearing into nothingness and going on forever.

And far _far_ in the distance, was a crossroad. A fork, if you will.

Varian sat up, head spinning, and grabbed a fistful of sand, letting it fall through his fingers, almost slower than usual. He stood up, goggles caked in earth, clothes ruffled, and he turned on his heel and ran.

Away from the road, away from the desert.

Away from whatever the hell _this_ was.

He ran until his hair was stuck to his forehead, until his legs ached like Satan and until his breath was as rapid as a catalysed reaction.

He ran.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” a voice said.

Varian jumped – as you would – and spun his head around despite his oncoming nausea to find the source of the noise.

“Cute,” the voice teased at his efforts, and he scowled.

“Hey, it’s not that easy searching for someone who’s _invisible!”_

More laughter. Varian stopped – he hadn’t given up, oh no – and tried to discreetly catch his breath.

He raised his eyebrow and straightened up to his full height – which wasn’t that tall – looking out into the blank airspace in hope that he was looking at something. It wasn’t often that Varian had no idea but…

This came close.

“Are you even invisible, or are you just scared?” He taunted, crossing his arms and pointing his chin. He’d watched his dad employ intimidation techniques more times than he could count. He just had to copy that.

Laughter, _again!_

“I don’t reveal my form to just anyone, Varian,” the voice – feminine, he realized – purred, and he sagged his shoulders slightly.

“Well considering I’m no longer in Old Corona, and I’m going to hazard a guess that _you_ brought me here, I’d say I’m special enough to see your true form, lady.”

And then there was silence, long enough for Varian to loosen his arms slightly and for his breath to slip from its noose.

“Hmm, fair enough,” the voice said, and Varian was knocked off his feet in a sudden and swell _swoop!_

The light dimmed, and before him appeared a young girl – perhaps his age – wearing a white button up shirt and a matching pair of trousers… and shoes… and gloves.

“What’s with all the white?” Varian asked with a smirk, and in return, was given a small smile. Well, he counted it as a victory.

“Do you like it?” She asked, spinning around slightly, “you presumed I was a female, and in accordance I made myself so. However, I found it fitting to age myself to be similar to your own. 14, yes?”

Varian looked up, and was ashamed to say, quite speechless. He settled on a simple yet philosophical question.

“What am I doing here?”

Yes, perfect.

She chuckled, “this Varian, is your subconscious. And, before you ask, I am the angel of crossroads. Can you guess why I am here?”

So, she was still teasing him. Great.

“Probably because I am about to face a crossroads. Am I correct, mi ‘lady?”

She frowned at that.

“Don’t call me that.”

Varian smirked, “then what should I call you?”

She thought for a second, “(Y/N)”

“Okay (Y/N), what is this mysterious crossroads that I am supposed to be facing?” Varian asked, getting up finally from the ground so that he was eye level – no, taller! – than the angel.

She pondered, her gloved hand rubbing at her chin in thought, her eyes pointed and glassy.

“Walk with me,” she commanded, and set off no later than she said that, leaving Varian to frog march to keep up with her.

And they walked.

It was both hot and cold, both hilly and flat, both unbearably boring and…

Still unbearably boring.

“Look, all this walking isn’t giving me answers,” Varian snapped, rushing in front of (Y/N) to try and stop her.

“No, it isn’t,” she agreed, “so what do you want to talk about?”

He blanched, blue eyes wide, “the crossroads!”

She smirked at him, pushing a strand of her hair behind her ear.

“Yes, well due to space and time and all that nonsense, I can’t actually tell you what the crossroads is,” she looked at Varian’s enraged face, “BUT I can give you some advice.”

Varian closed his mouth and turned to the girl – the angel – with a resigned look.

“Go on then,” he snapped, quite tired now. He had so many experiments he could be doing, so many new discoveries!

She smiled at him, a sad but sympathetic look in her eyes. Something told him that look wasn’t for the present.

“Varian, how much do you love your father?”

Varian blinked. Once. Twice.

“A lot, I mean… he’s not there much, and he doesn’t appreciate my endeavors, but I’m sure he means well- “

“Varian,” (Y/N) said, and he stopped accordingly, “what is a promise?”

“Something you should keep, no matter what,” Varian said immediately, his expression playful but his eyes completely serious.

She shot her eyebrow up, but nonchalantly picked at her sleeve, “Isn’t that kind of a childish fantasy?”

He froze, turning to her.

“What?”

She smiled at the ground, “I mean, you’re the scientist. Is it completely probably that circumstances allow a person to keep a promise 100% of the time?”

She continued to walk, and he followed behind her, head to the ground and eyebrows creased in thought.

And then they reached the crossroads.

She turned to him.

“So?” (Y/N) asked, smiling.

Varian frowned one last time, and looked up at her – not timid, but not assertive, but curiously, and in anticipation.

“Scientifically?”

He looked on, at the wide and vast expanse, and outlined the edge of the forked road in his mind.

“No, I guess it isn’t.”

She grinned at him, showing pearlescent teeth that matched her clothes and snorted. In a very un-angelic manner.

“Hopefully I won’t have to see you again,” she giggled, and Varian smiled charmingly.

“That wouldn’t be so bad, although maybe in different circumstances…” Varian teased – finally he was the one teasing! – and she turned towards the crossroads, which was disappearing slowly in a fog of black.

And he was sent, back to Old Corona, the angel looking longingly after him.

And when Quirin was cast in amber, Varian grieved.

But he only grieved, and the world went on in peace.

 


	35. All The Sides to an Alchemist

"So... you're my soul?"

You stood in front of him - hair streaked with blue and apron dusted with danger - and shook your hand about, the top of your lip leering up towards her nose as you uttered, "eh."

"I represent your logical side," you corrected, tucking a loose curl behind your ear.

Your tone was scolding, and authoritative, and it made Varian scowl.

"That makes no sense!" He reasoned, throwing his hands about in frantic thought and explanation, "If you were the personification of my logical side, and you are separate, then surely I wouldn't be able to rationalise whilst you are separate from me."

His logical side didn't look impressed with his analytics however, and your hard set mouth and crossed arms reminded him scarily of his old teachers, the ones who didn't approve of his constant interruptions - questions! - and smartass attitude - inquisitiveness!

"Think of me as a vision, a door into your psyche. I'm not actually here, as in, you wouldn't be able to physically touch me. But for all intents and purposes, I'm as 'here' as you are."

To any outsider that was to walk into the lab at that point in time, they would coo at the cute twins that stood in front of them, completely ignoring the desperate state of the room, and the discarded (yet potentially fatal) chemicals that balanced on the edge, much like Varian's own mental state.

Both teenagers - for lack of a better word - stood serious, crossed arms and inquisitive stares, but because of their short stature, one would say that they looked adorably scorned.

'If only Varian was that unproblematic in reality,' you thought.

"So why are you here?" the alchemist questioned, shifting in his oversized shoes, "I mean, normally people don't just hallucinate for no reason-"

"you're not hallucinating!"

"- unless I accidentally ingested something? Or maybe the room hasn't properly been fumigated?"

"I'm not the product of some trippy drug you half-pint, dimwitted -"

"I haven't been sleeping well lately, but then again I don't sleep well at all, really..."

"VARIAN!"

The boy shut up, thank God, and stared at you in expectant shock. At least his reaction time was unfaulty, seemingly. One blessing in a myriad of troubles.

"I'm here, because you, Varian, have been neglecting your logical side for quite some time now."

"Impossible."

"Oh, get your head out of your arse. You're not exempt from the temptations of the heart, no matter how high in regard you hold yourself," you snapped, shutting him up immediately. It really didn't take much, did it?

"So, pray tell," Varian teased, almost nastily, "how long have I been 'neglecting my logical side'?"

"Irrelevant, all that matters is that you need to stop. Now."

"Why?"

Goodness, this was going to prove difficult.

"Because, and I can't believe I have to explain this, without logic, decisions tend to be impulsive. Reckless. Bad. And bad decisions make for a difficult time up in that old brain of yours."

"But of course, you could just let your heart guide the way!"

Oh God. No. Not him.

"Who said that?" Varian questioned dumbly, and you felt the overwhelming urge to slam your head into the wall, however, that would be rather counterintuitive, so you resisted. For now.

"Why, it's me! Your morality!"

Varian spun around, already late at locating the source of the voice - your nemesis, the source of all your troubles. His feelings.

Varian's morality stood taller than you, and was adorned in the same clothes, yet somehow, they were both brighter, fluffier (even though there was a significant lack of actual fluff) and all in all, he hurt your eyes more than you'd care to admit.

His unbridled joy and boundless energy seemed to power the room - lights brightened and all the discarded chemicals seemed to glow along with him, radiating to his love.

"My... morality?" Varian questioned, skeptical, and looked the boy up and down.

You suddenly felt quite proud of him.

"Why yes! You do have one you know," Morality informed, and it came to your attention that he wasn't even being sarcastic.

Of course he wasn't. Sarcasm required brains.

"So then... why are you here?" Varian asked, and you groaned.

The wall was beginning to look rather tempting.

"Why, I'm here to help you, Sport!" Morality gleamed, bouncing on his toes as he - unfortunately - moved closer, "you've been rather down in the dumps lately."

Varian's eyes flashed dangerously, and Morality stepped backwards scared.

You scoffed. Varian couldn't hurt you, or Morality. However, he could make either of your lives utter hell if he felt so inclined.

Which is why you had to talk some sense into him, which was utterly impossible with Mr. Happy around.

"I wonder why I've been so 'down in the dumps'," Varian spat, mocking Morality with such venom that even you had to reevaluate your stance - which wasn't to say you'd lost your footing, no... more like... tactfully stepped back, to save your hearing.

"Well, there's no need for that," Morality said, crossing his arms and pouting - like an insufferable 2 year old - whilst also, annoyingly, tapping his foot. He was acting like a father, which considering the situation, wasn't the best stance to take.

Morality breathed in and exhaled, his face becoming softer and more welcoming. Gosh darned emotions. They're so manipulative.

"All I meant was, you're sad, and I don't like seeing you sad. So..." He wiggled his fingers, "what'ya gonna do 'bout it?"

You sighed, pinching the bridge of your nose, but Varian wasn't looking at you. He was all too focused on the parading dumbass in front of him.

"What can I do about it. I've tried everything! The amber won't break, he won't-" Varian's voice cracked, and he turned away, the ghost of a sniffle echoing through the lab.

You were highly convinced that he was blinking away tears, which was obviously a side effect of Morality's hold on the boy. He had been here far too long.

"Well, let's go back to the root. Who made you feel this way?" Morality asked, twirling his hands around, perhaps to get Varian's mind moving, which was preposterous! You were his mind, and you were staying still, thank you very much.

"Rapunzel," Varian snarled, almost animalistic, and you're eyes widened. You didn't need to be a prophet to see where this conversation was going, and whether Morality liked it or not, it was going there.

"Okay... so maybe you can, I dunno, talk to her about your feelings?" Morality suggested, and you sighed.

Varian looked over at you.

Okay. Maybe you sighed a bit too loudly.

"What do you suggest I do then, Miss. Logic?" Varian teased, and you felt your chest swell with a need to prove yourself to him; you were the right route to take. He was already on the path to revenge, so why not coax him down it a bit more. That way in the future, he'll realise that Logic - you - were the one that gave him satisfaction, not Morality.

"Rapunzel won't understand, so you have to make her," you suggested, walking closer to the boy and smiling a slightly sadistic smile, teeth and all, "you have to make her understand, Varian."

Varian's face blurred with a single tear that fell down his cheek, but his eyes were bone dry.

"I think I understand," he said, grinning.

Morality fell back, flickering in and out of view, shock and horror painting on his face.

"I have to make her understand."

And with that, Logic became the sole drive in Varian's mind, and all sense of Morality was lost to the wind.


	36. A Game Regarding Death

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I know I said I wouldn't do modern AU's... and I don't. Mostly.

"You can't be serious," you groaned, dead-panned face hidden behind the embarrassingly pink ruffles of the dog pillow you were cradling, "Ouiji?"

"Oh come on, (Y/N), it's just a little fun. What's the harm?"

You stared at the pretty blonde in front of you, her smile overflowing with crocodile teeth, the soft wrinkles around her eyes cavernous in the low lighting, and groaned.

"It's a little... cliché, don't you think?" Liz added, her deep voice perfectly practised into an uninterested scowl, the dark clash of her clothes to the garish background adding new and ever welcome irony to the situation.

You flashed your eyes over to Liz, and twinkled a thanks to her, to which she responded by flipping her finger up at you. Ah, true friends. What would you do without them?

"It's only cliché because it's utterly awesome!" Jessica fawned, her faux curls bouncing on the shoulders of her silken nightdress, "and doing it would make us, like, awesome too!"

The three of you were sat in a circle, all completely contrasting each other like the three primary colours - if the primary colours included black and bubblegum pink - with the Ouiji board in front of you like a tempting apple. Except this 'apple' was peach and purple, with tiny flowers adorning the edges, and a Toys R Us Box propping it up.

"So... who wants to go first?" Liz whispered, her eyebrow raised and lip tainted into a smirk as she scooted closer to you, about as interested in the Ouiji board as a toddler with a calculator. It looked pretty, and could be intriguing, but what would come of it, really?

"I'm fairly sure we're supposed to warm it up," Liz informed, patronising to the inside eye, but vaguely helpful to the untrained eye - in this case, the bubbly Jessica.

"Oh, okay! Like this?" Jessica placed her hand on the planchette, wriggling her painted fingers over the wooden surface.

You and Liz made eye contact, rolled your irises in complete unison, and then settled your respective hands on the planchette. And you rolled.

Once.

Twice.

And then you opened your eyes to soon. And there he was.

A blue wisp of a boy, his head lolled slightly to the side as if he had fallen asleep standing up, or was simply curious. His eyes were bright even though they were dulled, and his face was pale even in the cobalt tendrils that exuded his body like light from a lampshade. He wore naught but a shirt and shorts, his feet invisible to the eye, his torso covered by a flowing apron. And it was stained - bright even in the same hue colour that covered his entire being, and utterly horrifying.

And he was floating above the Ouiji, looking at you.

You screamed.

"(Y/N), what the hell?!" Liz shouted, arms flying up to protect herself from your clingy terror, "what are you doing?"

"Can-Can't you see him?" You screeched, voice shaky and finger waving frantically at the spectre that was looming in front of you.

"Who, darling?" Jessica crooned, loving the drama. If you were in the right mind set, you might have punched her.

But you were a little distracted.

"Get out," a small voice whispered, the demented cluster of sound rushing through the room and scraping the surface of every object that littered the space.

"What was that?" Liz asked, looking around, passing straight over the scarred figure as if he wasn't there. How couldn't they se-

"I think he wants you to leave."

"Who is 'he'? I knew you were crazy," Jessica taunted, flipping her hair straight through his midsection.

"Get out."

You hardly even noticed the scuffle of fabrics, the jaunted noise, the disgruntled moans.

You were occupied.

And he stared at you, hair everywhere, one eye blazing your own.

"(Y/N). Help me."


End file.
